Some tread marks found in the home of Gerald Dawson, who died from a stab wound in the back, match a pair of dark brown lace-up shoes found in the home of Karen Rodrigue, the Yukon Supreme Court heard this morning.

The footware print that could be matched to the shoe was made in dust, Const. James Giczi, with the the RCMP's forensic identification unit, told the seven women and five men of the jury.

There were many foot marks throughout Dawson's home, some with bare feet, some with socks, and some with shoes. Many of them were made in blood.

The dust footprint means it is not possible to date the print, said Giczi.

It could have happened before or after the killing, Giczi told the jury, adding there is no way of knowing if the print even occurred on the same day.

Other footware prints in the house had tread marks consistent with shoes from the accused's home.

This means that the type of shoe could likely be determined by the tread pattern and size, although it could not be traced back to a specific shoe, he said.

In order to trace a foot marking back to an individual shoe it must have 'accidentals,' Giczi said, such as 'cuts, knicks, holes, stones' in the tread.

The pair of shoes taken from Rodrigue's home and the mark found in dust at Dawson's home both bore similar markings on the tread; a knick in the shape of a three-leafed clover and a 'dish shape' from wear.

Many of the footprints had been washed away, Giczi told the court. However, using a special chemical that detects proteins and irons in the blood, police revealed some footprints that had been washed away.

Some footprints made in heavy blood were visible to the naked eye, though, he said.

'The ones I saw immediately were the bloody sock (prints),' he said.

The court also heard this morning that forensic evidence was not conclusive as to whether Dawson and Rodrigue had sexual contact the night of the stabbing.

Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie said that swabs taken from Dawson neither proved nor disproved if the two had sex.

Viagra was found in Dawson's blood, although no other drugs were present. Because alcohol levels in the blood can increase or decrease after death, forensic tests found the alcohol levels were not reliable to make any conclusions.

Dawson died as a result of internal bleeding caused by stab wounds from a single edged knife blade, the court heard Friday afternoon.

The knife blade was facing upwards when it was plunged 5 to 6 inches into Dawson's upper left shoulder, likely in an overhand motion, according to a report by forensic pathologist Laurel Gray at Vancouver General Hospital.

He died within 10 to 15 minutes of the stabbing because the knife punctured Dawson's lung, Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie said, based on Gray's report.

While Dawson suffered two stab wounds, the other was a superficial cut towards the backbone.

There was also bruising found around his head and neck. While Gray determined the bruising happened within a few hours of his death, it was not possible to say the order of the injuries which occurred first, the bruising or the stabbing.

While some of the bruises Dawson suffered could have been caused by falling to the floor, Gray said a fall did not likely account for all of them.

They may have been caused by bare hands, McWhinnie concluded from Gray's report.

'(Dawson) may have been rendered briefly unconscious from blows to the head and neck,' McWhinnie told the court.

In an interview with police after she was arrested for possessing Dawson's missing car, Rodrigue wrote an apology letter for killing Dawson.

The letter also gave police a sample of her hand writing to compare with a note that had been left on Dawson's door, stating that he was out of town in B.C.

The letter read in part: 'I, Karen Rodrigue, am writing this letter to apologize ..... What I did was wrong and I will have to live with it for the rest of my life.... Please forgive me for taking Gerald's life.'