Nikitta Grender: Victim's DNA 'on defendant Carl Whant's clothes'

Blood found on the clothes of a man accused of raping and murdering a pregnant teenager matched the victim's DNA, a jury has been told.

Diluted bloodstains were found on a blue shirt and the inside of a jacket worn by Carl Whant, 27.

Nikitta Grender, 19, was found in her burning flat in Liswerry, Newport, in February 2011.

The defendant, of Bettws, near Newport, denies murder, child destruction, rape and arson. The trial continues.

Gregg Taylor QC, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court the clothes Mr Whant was wearing that night were handed over to police but had been washed.

Grandmother's home

The defendant told officers that any blood found on them would have been old from fights months previously.

The jury also heard that the accused told police he had left a party to get cigarettes from his grandmother's home.

Carl Whant, 27, arriving for a previous court appearance

He claimed he had avoided Newport city centre on the journey because he had been drinking.

But Mr Taylor said CCTV pictures would show Mr Whant did not take that route at all. Instead, it was claimed, he had had driven in his Ford Focus towards Ms Grender's home.

The jury was told that the knife used to kill Ms Grender and her unborn daughter had never been found.

In the dock, the defendant made occasional notes as the barrister continued with his opening statement.