AN alleged stalker may have slept with his ex-girlfriend in the moments before he killed her, a court heard.

A forensic scientist told the trial of Michael Lane yesterday that DNA found to match the 27-year-old suggested he could have had sex with Shana Grice before her throat was slit and her room was set on fire.

Her body was found in her bedroom in Chrisdory Road, Portslade, on August 25 last year.

The pair had an affair and then a public relationship, but when Miss Grice ended it, Lane is alleged to have stalked her in the months leading up to her death.

Kim Edwards, giving evidence at Lewes Crown Court, said the tests and an examination of Miss Grice's body and clothing after she died confirmed a recent liaison between the pair but could not conclusively say when it took place.

It may have been on the morning of her death, or two days before, she said. Jurors were previously told the pair checked into the Langford Hotel in Third Avenue, Hove, and allegedly had sex on August 23.

Ms Edwards said: "We found a complete profile matching Michael Lane. It could indicate sex on August 25 but could equally be on August 23. There are a few possible explanations."

Tests on a plastic smoke alarm found broken into pieces underneath Miss Grice's body and wipes discovered in her room had traces of small amounts of Lane's DNA as well as hers, the court heard.

The mechanic, who used to work at Brighton Fire Alarms testing smoke alarms, told police he changed the battery on the smoke alarm some weeks before, jurors heard.

Ms Edwards said his DNA was not found by the smoke alarm's battery, which she would expect if someone had touched it to change it, but that this could be for several reasons.

The examinations did not confirm Lane had been in the room at the time of Miss Grice's death and samples of DNA from other people were also found on items there.

Ms Edwards added that sometimes DNA can remain undisturbed on items for some time or be transferred through contact so cannot always necessarily place someone at the scene.

Lane, of Thornhill Rise, Portslade, denies murder.

The trial continues.

HE SAID SHE’D PAY, FRIEND TELLS MURDER JURY

ACCUSED Michael Lane whispered to a friend at a pub that his ex- girlfriend would “pay for what she’s done”, jurors were told.

Michael Lane is alleged to have made the comments to Natalie Fines when she bumped into him five days before Shana Grice was killed.

Giving evidence, Ms Fines said she saw him at the Mile Oak Inn pub while she was out with her parents on the evening of Saturday, August 20.

In court she said: “He told me she’d dumped him and gone back to her ex. He wasn’t very happy about it, he told me he was depressed. As we were all leaving and hugging goodbye, he whispered in my ear ‘she’ll pay for what she’s done’.”

During cross-examination Simon Russell Flint, defending, asked her if she knew Miss Grice owed Lane money. Ms Fines replied: “No.”

She added: “I didn’t think that much of it [the comment]. He’d often say things like that. For example, that he’d kill himself, and do it that night, but he didn’t act on it.”

The court previously heard how Lane sought advice and told Father Andrew Birks, then a lay member of the Portslade and Mile Oak parish, of his worries, particularly about his grandfather.