The examination of a flashlight found DNA linked to both a murder victim and the woman accused of killing him.

The jury in Christina Asp's first-degree murder trial heard from another DNA expert Thursday.

Asp is accused of killing 63-year-old Gordon Seybold, whose remains were discovered after his house burned to the ground in March 2008.

Her then-boyfriend, Norman Larue, is also charged in the case and is expected to go to trial later this year.

Derek Sutherland of the RCMP's forensic identification laboratory in Edmonton told the court about tests done on a large flashlight taken by police from an Edmonton hotel room where Asp and her boyfriend stayed in April 2008.

Forensic experts swabbed two areas of the flashlight looking for DNA — one at the junction of the flashlight's head and handle and also on the handle itself.

The area between the head and handle tested positive for blood, the court heard.

The blood was a mixed sample containing DNA profiles for more than two people, Sutherland said.

The major DNA sample was linked to Seybold.

The odds of the DNA belonging to anyone else are one in 29 billion, Sutherland said.

The jury has already heard about Seybold's blood being found on a bat and floor mat of a car owned by Asp's mother.

As for the other DNA samples found on the flashlight, Sutherland testified there were not enough data available to make meaningful comparisons to either Asp or Larue.

When it came to the handle of the flashlight, Sutherland testified that forensic officials swabbed the entire area.

This was to look for contact DNA from anyone who may have held or touched the flashlight, he said.

DNA profiles from more than two individuals were found on the handle. One of those profiles was linked to Asp, he said.

Seybold's DNA was not found on the handle.

Based on the Caucasian database commonly used to determine how rare a sample is, the odds of the DNA belonging to anyone other than Asp are one in 970 million, Sutherland said.

Using DNA data for First Nations communities in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario, the odds are adjusted to between one in 46 million and one in 68 million.

No database exists specifically for First Nation communities in the North, he said.

No meaningful comparison could be made between Larue and the other samples found on the handle, the court heard.

The trial, being heard before Justice Leigh Gower, is scheduled to continue Monday and last until June.