The person responsible for the Clydach murders probably used one of Mandy Power's socks as a glove during the attacks, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

The jury was told on Wednesday that a blood-soaked sock was found in the bedroom of Mrs Power's home in Kelvin Road, and that a handprint in blood found downstairs could have been made by someone whose hand was covered with a sock.

Forensic experts found a bath of blood

Dr Michael Barber, a forensic scientist specialising in hand and foot marks, said he used a sock and horse blood to try and recreate the marks onto an identical piece of carpet.

He said they were indistinguishable.

Another scientist, Claire Galbraith, said she tested the sock and found it contained traces of fibreglass and plastic from the rod which has been identified as the murder weapon.

Mrs Power, her two daughters Katie and Emily, and her 80-year-old mother, Doris Dawson, were found dead at their home in June 1999, following what was described in court as a "massacre".

Murder scene

Builder David Morris, 40, of Craig Cefn Parc, near Clydach, denies being responsible for the murders.

On Tuesday, the court heard that forensic scientists had failed to find any DNA evidence linking Mr Morris to the murder scene.

The jury was told that Home Office scientists examined hundreds of items removed from the house where the family members were battered to death.

A further detailed examination of the house was carried out. Again, no evidence was found to link Mr Morris to the scene, apart from a gold chain lying in a pool of blood.

David Morris denies four counts of murder

Neither was any incriminating evidence found when scientists examined clothing belonging to Mr Morris.

Forensic scientist Claire Galbraith had told the jury that whoever committed the murders either bathed or showered before leaving the murder scene.

She found a bath at the house half full of bloody water, and there was also blood on the shower control unit.

The court was told that divorcee Mrs Power, aged 34, suffered the worst of her injuries in front of her bedridden mother.

Necklace

Asked to speculate on the sequence of deaths, Mrs Galbraith said she thought Doris Dawson was the first to have been attacked.

Police found a gold necklace lying in a pool of Mrs Power's blood on the bedroom floor, and the prosecution has alleged that it belonged to Morris.

Earlier in the trial, the prosecution claimed that he had carried out the killings after the mother of two spurned his sexual advances.

He then set fire to the house to conceal his crime, it was claimed.

The trial continues