Port Townsend: DNA evidence presented in murder trial

PORT TOWNSEND — The jury hearing the first-degree murder case against Robert Stoner of Quilcene listened to testimony on DNA evidence Monday.

Stoner, 55, is on trial in Jefferson County Superior Court for the Oct. 2, 2000, shooting death of Douglas McFarland at Stoner’s home near Quilcene.

Chuck Henry, Stoner’s defense attorney, continued to point out inconsistencies in the testimony of Donald D. Pruitt, 44, a friend of both men who was present the night McFarland was shot to death.

Detective Brian Smelser of the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab in Marysville testified that two blood samples discovered in Stoner’s residence at 720 Leland Valley Road matched McFarland’s DNA “fingerprint.”

However, Smelser wasn’t able to conclude that other blood samples belonged to McFarland, Stoner or Pruitt.

The full report appears in today’s Jefferson County edition of the Peninsula Daily News. Click onto “Subscribe” to order your PDN delivered to your home or office.

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