A police officer has told Belfast Crown Court how he found human remains in household bins while carrying out door-to-door inquiries in Ballymena, County Antrim, in June 2023. The officer was giving evidence on Monday in the trial of Brandon Rainey (30), formerly of James Street, Ballymena, who denies murdering Chloe Mitchell and preventing the lawful burial of her remains.

The officer said he was in the James Street area on 11 June when he noticed a strong smell. After a resident apologised for an odour coming from her bin, he opened it and found maggots and an overwhelming stench. He told the court he struggled not to be sick. He said his suspicions were raised by CCTV footage he had previously viewed showing a figure walking back and forth in the area. By retracing those steps, he identified another bin which also contained human remains and flies.

A statement from a James Street resident was read to the court. She said she had noticed a strange smell from her black bin but had not thought anything of it. She had checked inside, saw bin liners tied in a similar way to her own, and poured bleach into the bin to try to deal with the smell.

The court also heard a witness statement from a person who attended a barbecue with Brandon Rainey in the days before Chloe Mitchell went missing. That witness said they had overheard Rainey ask his mother: "Would you still love me if I dismembered 50 people and hid their parts?"

The jury was shown interior photographs of Rainey's flat on James Street taken after Chloe Mitchell went missing. A number of knives were found, and blood was identified in the living room, bedroom, and hallway, as well as an area of burnt debris outside.

On Monday afternoon, an expert witness in biology and forensic science told the court that blood stains, smears, and spatters throughout the flat matched the DNA of Chloe Mitchell. They were identified in the living room, bedroom, bathroom, on the outside meter box, and doorframe. A mixed DNA profile was obtained from a hammer, but Chloe Mitchell was not excluded as a possible contributor. The expert noted that blood found on two knives did not match Chloe Mitchell's DNA.

The defence told the court that the expert is limited in assessing how the samples appeared in their positions, or when the blood or DNA was deposited.