The former Fort Campbell Army major accused in the 2015 triple murders of a Pembroke couple and their neighbor appeared in Christian Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Judge John Atkins said a notice was filed by the Commonwealth regarding the status of DNA testing. At a previous hearing, he stated it was agreed that the DNA testing would be observed by an expert chosen by the defense in the case against Christian “Kit” Martin. Judge Atkins added the notice explains that the FBI has a policy that forbids observation of their testing process, meaning no one would be allowed from the defense to observe the testing process.
When Judge Atkins asked Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Prather why the Kentucky State Police laboratory isn’t an option, he stated this is a very specific type of DNA testing.
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Prather noted that having the company and not the FBI test the mitochondrial DNA would be a significant expense for the Commonwealth, tens of thousands of dollars.
Martin’s defense attorney, Doug Moore said it’s unfortunate it cost so much, but their position is they object to any testing being done without their defense expert present.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Atkins ruled to allow the FBI to proceed with the DNA testing.
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They will be back in court for a pretrial conference on the morning of April 15 at 11:00.
Martin is charged with three counts of complicity to murder, arson, attempted arson, second-degree burglary and three counts of complicity of tampering with physical evidence in connection to the deaths of Calvin and Pam Phillips and Ed Dansereau in November 2015. He is being held in the Christian County Jail on a $3 million bond.
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