A sample of saliva reportedly found on the body of murdered Joanna Yeates, right, could be the breakthrough police have been waiting for, a forensics expert has told the Evening Post.
The sample is said to have been found by forensic scientists who have been meticulously swabbing her body for clues that they hope will help catch her killer.
Miss Yeates, a landscape architect from Clifton, was last seen alive on December 17. Her body was found on Christmas Day in Longwood Lane, Failand.
Since that time a huge police team has been searching for evidence that will bring the 25-year-old's killer to justice.
The latest alleged find, reported yesterday, could be the break the police team have been hoping for.
Dr Carolyn Morton, a principal lecturer in forensic science at UWE, said: "If they do have a saliva test and it is a pure sample from one person it is absolutely brilliant news.
"They then just have to check who or find out who the owner is. It is a very strong lead and line of inquiry.
"The thing that is important to know is whether the sample is strong or weak. I would like to know if it is a pure sample and where on the body it was found.
"Potentially it is very exciting news but without knowing exactly what they found there are still many ifs and buts.
"If it is true they have found this sample then I'm really pleased but, as always, there can be no guarantees."
Dr Morton confirmed it was possible the DNA could belong to anyone Miss Yeates interacted with on the evening of December 17. It is thought that she could have kissed colleagues when she left the Bristol Ram on December 17 because she would not have expected to have seen them again until after the Christmas break.
It is believed that further tests are being carried out on other swabs taken from Miss Yeates' body – and from clothing and possessions at the flat in Canynge Road, Clifton, which she shared with boyfriend Greg Reardon.
The report is the second to claim that DNA has been found on Miss Yeates' body.
But police have continually refused to confirm or deny whether any DNA has been found on her body or at her flat.
It emerged yesterday that the killer could have transported Miss Yeates' body from her Clifton flat to where her body was dumped without being recorded on a single CCTV camera.
Police have sifted through hours of footage of traffic crossing Clifton Suspension Bridge but that will all be in vain if the killer took the other route through Clifton Wood, Hotwells and then over the Avon Bridge at the Cumberland Basin and up towards the Ashton Court estate.
The Evening Post revealed on Tuesday the sighting of a mystery vehicle being driven suspiciously in Longwood Lane on December 18 – the day after Miss Yeates is believed to have disappeared but a week before her strangled body was found.
Former Bristol Rovers player and manager Ian Holloway has added his voice to calls for anyone with information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the killer to come forward. He said: "If anybody knows anything suspicious, they are risking somebody else's child by not reporting it."
Miss Yeates was last seen alive on December 17 after drinking with colleagues at the Bristol Ram pub in Park Street.
She was reported missing by her boyfriend Mr Reardon, 27, two days later when he returned home from a weekend away.
Yesterday it was reported that Mr Reardon had gone to Sheffield on the weekend of his girlfriend's disappearance to visit his three- month-old twin nieces for the first time.
It was further claimed that Mr Reardon does not want to return to Bristol again because he would find the memories of his girlfriend too painful.
Miss Yeates' snow-covered body was found dumped on a verge in Longwood Lane, between Failand and Long Ashton, on Christmas Day by dog walkers.
Miss Yeates' landlord Chris Jefferies, 65, a former teacher at Clifton College, was arrested on suspicion of her murder on December 30 but released on police bail two days later.
A team of 80 officers are working on the case and are following up more than 1,000 lines of inquiry including whether she was strangled with her own ski sock, which it is thought her killer might then have kept as a trophy.
Anyone with information about Miss Yeates' murder should call the police on 0845 456 7000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0800 555111
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