Officer Searched Lawrence Suspect's Home

The trial of two men accused of murdering teenager Stephen Lawrence has heard from a police officer who visited the teenager's family and searched the home of one of the defendants.

Detective Constable Linda Holden had visited the murder victim's relatives on April 29, 1993 before being told to search Gary Dobson's house in Eltham, southeast London, on May 7.

Prosecutors claim that microscopic fibres found on clothes belonging to Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, prove that they took part in the gang attack that killed Mr Lawrence.

But defence lawyers for the pair, who both deny murder, claim that fibres, blood and hair were transferred on to the clothes by contamination.

Ms Holden told a jury at the Old Bailey that she was certain she had not worn the same clothes to the Lawrence and Dobson homes.

Timothy Roberts QC, for Dobson, asked: "Didn't you think to yourself 'just a minute, I've been to the Lawrence household just last week. It might not be a good idea for me to be at two different scenes'?"

"It was well over a week later and I didn't think that I had any risk of contamination and certain senior officers knew that I had been to the Lawrence family home," she replied.

Later in cross examination Mr Roberts asked: "Are you absolutely sure and can you swear on oath that you didn't wear the same shirt?"

She replied: "Positive."

On Monday the court heard that Dobson seemed "nervous" when questioned about the teenager's death that had taken place three days earlier.