A MASS DNA testing programme got under way yesterday as detectives intensified their hunt for a killer.
Police investigating the death of David Williamson are planning to take DNA samples from about 80 villagers in Sutton-on-the-Forest and Huby, North Yorkshire.
Mr Williamson, 58, was found lying on a quiet road between the two villages on March 26, and later died in hospital. Police believe he was struck from behind with a blunt instrument as he walked home from a late-night party at his local pub.
Detectives have a DNA profile, which they believe to be that of the killer, but delayed the start of the testing programme after a request from the Home Office Forensic Science Service, at Wetherby.
The service needed extra time to put systems in place to ensure DNA samples from this inquiry could not be mixed up with thousands of other samples being tested at the laboratories.
Acting Detective Inspector Kevin Ross said: "This was a very minor delay. We and the Forensic Science Service just want to be absolutely sure that everything is in place to make certain the integrity of these tests cannot be faulted."
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