DNA samples matching the profile of MMA fighter Conor McGregor were found on the body, underwear and clothes of the woman accusing him of rape, the High Court has heard.
However, forensic scientist Dr Charlotte Murphy said the issue of whether there was consensual sexual intercourse between Mr McGregor and 35-year-old Nikita Hand was outside her remit as a scientist.
Ms Hand’s case has now concluded the court was told.
Ms Hand has sued Mr McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, accusing them of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
Mr McGregor and Mr Lawrence deny her claims and claim they each had consensual sex with Ms Hand on 9 December 2018.
Dr Murphy said she carried DNA analysis of swabs taken from Ms Hand’s body after the alleged assault as well as the clothing she was wearing.
She agreed that whether or not consensual sexual intercourse had taken place was completely outside her remit.
Her purpose was to examine the swabs and clothing for semen and to examine Ms Hand’s clothes for damage.
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Dr Murphy said DNA profiles matching the profile of Mr McGregor were found on swabs taken from Ms Hand’s body.
Profiles matching Mr McGregor’s profile were also found in analysis of semen stains on the black playsuit and underwear worn by Ms Hand.
Dr Murphy said it was 1000 million times more likely that the DNA originated from Mr McGregor rather than an unknown person.
Mr Lawrence was excluded as a contributor to any of the DNA profiles.
Dr Murphy said both straps were ripped on the playsuit Ms Hand was wearing.
She said the right strap was ripped from the front of the playsuit. She said this was not normal wear and tear in her opinion but was caused by pulling.
Under cross-examination, Dr Murphy said the presence or absence of semen did not indicate consent. And it was not possible to scientifically address that.
Potential loss of earnings
The court also heard evidence about Ms Hand’s prospects of working again and whether she had suffered a loss of earnings as a result of the effects of the alleged assault.
John McMahon, the co-owner of the hairdressing salon in Goatstown in Dublin, where Ms Hand worked, said she worked four days a week and had earned around €400 a week plus €100 a week in tips before December 2018.
He said she had returned to work after the incident in December but had struggled and eventually resigned in May 2019.
Mr McMahon said Ms Hand was good and knew she was good.
She had not yet built up her own clientele he said, but he would have expected her to do that and to start earning around €750 a week.
Vocational assessor Elva Breen said that after the incident, Ms Hand found great difficulty in working in a customer-facing role and was struggling with significant anxiety and panic attacks.
She said when she saw her first in December 2020, she was not fit for competitive employment.
By April 2024, she said Ms Hand had made two attempts to return to work as a cleaner and at a local salon. But in both cases, she began suffering increasing anxiety.
Ms Breen said she did not think it would be possible for Ms Hand to ever return to the kind of hairdressing work she was doing prior to December 2018.
She said she now needed a safe and predictable environment where she did not have to deal with the public on a daily basis.
She said customer facing roles were too triggering for her.
She said part-time administrative work at entry level might be an option for her.
Actuary’s evidence
Actuary Peter Byrne gave evidence that if Ms Hand’s earnings had increased to €800 a week with €100 in tips, her loss of earnings between now and when she turned 66, based on her never being able to work again, would be almost €963,000.
He said that if Ms Hand was able to return to part-time employment in an administrative role, he estimated her future loss of earnings at almost €576,000.
He said he estimated Ms Hand’s past loss of earnings since the incident at almost €175,000.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens asked Mr Byrne to redo the calculations based on a flat weekly salary of €400 a week.
He said, on that basis, he estimated her past loss of earnings as around €136,000 and her future loss of earnings, if she never worked again, as almost €595,000.
If she had an earning capacity of €317 per week, he said the future loss of earnings would be almost €200,000.
The court also heard that Ms Hand is seeking the costs of relocating away from her current area.
Property valuer Patrick Sheehan valued the house owned by Ms Hand and her former boyfriend at around €430,000.
And he said he also estimated the price of houses in other areas that he had been asked to look at as between €500,000 and €700,000.
Danielle Kealy evidence
The court began hearing evidence from Danielle Kealy who was with Nikita Hand the day she alleges she was raped by Conor McGregor.
She said she did not know Ms Hand very well, because she worked in the Naas salon, while Ms Hand worked in Goatstown.
She said Conor McGregor’s name was mentioned when Nikita said she was chatting to him on Instagram during their Christmas party.
She said in the early hours of the morning, he was going to collect them from the salon.
Ms Kealy said he collected them and they drove around for a while and then went to the hotel.
She said he was in the back and they joined him there.
She said they stopped at two houses and James Lawrence got into the car at the second house and they went to the hotel.
Danielle Kealy said there were two drivers, she believed they were staying in a room directly across from them.
She said they arrived at the hotel shortly after midday and left around 6pm. Barrister Remy Farrell asked her if she remembered Conor McGregor and Nikita Hand going into another room. She said she remembered that but didn’t know what was happening in the room. She said they “came back out and everything was fine” .
She was asked if that happened just before they left and she said yes. “Everything was fine, I didn’t know what had happened.” She was asked if anyone seemed upset and she said no. She said she didn’t notice any bite mark on Mr McGregor’s face.
She said after they all woke up they decided to leave. Danielle Kealy agreed that she thought she was in the sitting room with James Lawrence during this time. She said she had sex with Mr Lawrence and condoms were used.
She said her phone was broken and she asked if she could go with Conor McGregor. She said Nikita and James were supposed to get the other car and go home. She said she said goodbye to Nikita and gave her a hug. She said Nikita wanted everyone to stay.
McGregor defence evidence
The court heard Ms Hand has now finished her case.
The jury has now begun hearing evidence called by Mr McGregor in his defence.
The first witness is Detective Garda James Codd who was involved in the investigation of the alleged rape at the Beacon Hotel.
He told the court he had gone to the hotel to look for CCTV footage.
