Questions Raised Over DNA Evidence to Secure Murder Convictions

A High Court ruling that DNA evidence was not enough to convict a man of murder could have wider implications on DNA convictions across Australia, an Adelaide lawyer has said.

A Supreme Court jury had convicted 27-year-old Daniel Glenn Fitzgerald over a brutal bashing murder based on DNA found on a didgeridoo.

Prosecutors alleged Fitzgerald was with a group of men who stormed an Elizabeth South house in June 2011 and attacked the occupants with weapons including a garden fork, a pole and wooden planks.

One victim, Kym Drover, 22, died four days later and a second victim, Leon Karpany, sustained serious brain injuries.

Fitzgerald was serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 20 years, and unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal.

But immediately after hearing submissions on appeal in June, the High Court acquitted him and has now published its reasons.

It says DNA evidence alone was not enough to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

It also found the DNA sample on the didgeridoo could have been transferred through his co-accused, Grant...