The director of the state crime lab says she found about three times more DNA from Moe Gibbs than from Mindy Morgenstern on Morgenstern's left hand fingernail clippings.

Gibbs, 35, a former Barnes County jailer, is accused of killing Morgenstern, a Valley City State University student from New Salem, in her off-campus Valley City apartment in September 2006. A deadlocked jury in Minot could not reach a verdict in the case at a trial that lasted from June 19 to July 12. The second trial is being held at the Burleigh County Courthouse.

Hope Olson, director of the state crime lab, told jurors Monday she found three times more of Gibbs' DNA than Morgenstern's on left hand fingernail clippings and about twice as much DNA from Gibbs than from Morgenstern on left hand fingernail scrapings. Olson said more of a different person's DNA showing up on a victim's fingernails than of the victim's DNA happens "very rarely."

Defense attorney Jeff Bredahl, who represents Gibbs along with Dennis Fisher, questioned Olson about whether the amount of DNA found would be consistent with "touch DNA," or the transfer of DNA through people touching the same surface. Olson said it was possible. However, when questioned by prosecutors, she said no DNA from any of the other people living in the 18-unit apartment where Gibbs and Morgenstern both lived was found on the clippings or scrapings.

She also said it was "extremely unlikely" that the DNA was touch DNA because of visible biological material seen on untested clippings and on filter paper containing scrapings.

Olson told jurors about tests done after the trial in Minot on a reddish-brown substance found on filter paper containing the scrapings from Morgenstern's left hand. The tests came back "presumptively positive for human blood," she said, explaining the test also can return positive tests for ferret, mink and monkey blood.

Under questioning from Assistant Attorney General Jon Byers, Olson said the substance found was red blood cells, which do not have nuclei and thus do not contain DNA. She said she could not say whose blood was on the paper. However, she said the substance that left the red blood cells on the filter paper was the scrapings from Morgenstern's left hand that showed Gibbs as the majority contributor to the substance.

Olson said the fingernail clippings and scrapings were among the first items tested because they were "intimate" to the victim. Investigators suggested trying the left hand first, since Morgenstern had her keys and purse on her right arm when she was found.

"If there had been any struggle present, she might have scratched the perpetrator," Olson said.

Olson explained that when she entered DNA found on Morgenstern's fingernail clippings and scrapings into a North Dakota database, the then-unknown DNA sample came back as a match to an "unsolved case."

A court order from Southeast District Judge John Paulson, who is presiding over the case, prohibits prosecutors from bringing up details of that unsolved case. Jurors were not told that after Gibbs was arrested for Morgenstern's murder, he also was charged with gross sexual imposition in a 2004 Cass County rape case in which a DNA sample had been obtained from the victim's body.

Gibbs is slated to stand trial in that case on Dec. 4.

Byers, who is prosecuting the case along with Barnes County State's Attorney Brad Cruff and Barnes County Assistant State's Attorney Lee Grossman, said he wanted Olson to describe how a match was made to Gibbs. He said it would be false to say a match was made directly to Gibbs, when the truth was the match first was made to the sample in the unsolved Cass County case, then to Gibbs, who submitted a sample after the first match was made.

Paulson allowed Olson to say the match was made to an unsolved case but would not allow her to go into the details of the case.

Olson was the only witness called Monday by prosecutors. Paulson adjourned for the day at 3:50 p.m. after prosecutors said calling another witness would force them to split the witness's testimony into two sections to allow two out-of-state expert witnesses to testify today. Olson's testimony was filled with objections from defense attorneys and prosecutors over the wording of questions and whether Olson was qualified to testify about touch DNA.

Olson also testified to doing DNA tests on other items, but she found no other full DNA profiles. She said several items were sent to Orchid Cellmark, an independent lab based in Texas. Rick Staub, from that laboratory, is slated to testify today, as is Dr. Michael Bourke, who has been described as an expert on the subject of touch DNA.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)