David Bain jury shown video

David Bain (R) with supporter Joe Karam. Photo / Otago Daily Times

The jury at the High Court of Christchurch has seen excerpts from a video taken by police on June 20, 1994.

The excerpt showed the body of Robin Bain.

While being re-examined by Crown prosecutor Robin Bates, former police photographer Trevor Edward Gardener said the video footage was taken before the still photographs.

Mr Gardener earlier told the court police photos of the Bain murder scene showed household items had been moved in-between police photograph shoots.

After revealing he no longer had the notebooks from the work carried out on the case 15 years ago, Mr Gardener revealed under cross-examination further examples of items in the Bain household that were moved between the times that various police photographs were taken.

The revelations came as David Bain's lawyer Helen Cull, QC, cross-examined the police photographer, who took the first photographs inside the house at Every St on June 20.

Ms Cull compared two photographs from inside David Bain's bedroom.

Mr Gardener confirmed that the two photographs, when viewed together, show that the trigger lock for the .22 rifle was moved, a shoe lace was moved, a packet of live rounds was turned on its side and there were a different number of bullets.

Ms Cull also asked about two other photographs of clothing.

"Things have moved, haven't they?" she asked.

"Yes, they have," he answered.

He confirmed that items of clothing and a pillow had been moved in another pair of images.

"That's not unusual for a crime scene," he said.

The jury in the case was earlier handed a booklet of photos taken at the time which they were warned show some "relatively unpleasant scenes".

Mr Gardener took video and still images of the Bain family home on Every St in Dunedin in 1994. The man has since left the police force and has no notebooks from the work that he carried out 15 years ago.

"I left the police approximately one year after the episode, obviously it's been over 14 years and it's been misplaced or whatever," he said.

He confirmed that he was the first photographer through the Bain family house, arriving at about 10am and entering the house somewhere between "late morning or early afternoon".

Ms Cull asked why the date and time mechanism on the police video camera was not switched on.

"Probably a decision I made by myself. I did not deem it necessary at the time to switch it on," the former police photographer said.

She also asked about a series of photographs taken in the Bain family laundry which showed that a washing machine lid had been moved from the machine, to the sink and then on to a near-by cabinet.

Ms Cull asked if the man took the pictures and if he could say in what order. He could not be sure who took them or in what sequence.

She asked then if the photographs were then not "true, accurate, or in chronological sequence".

Mr Gardener said that without access to the negatives, he could not be sure of the chronological sequence but "it is certainly true and accurate of what the officer wanted at the time".

David Bain denies five charges of murdering his family members. The trial is expected to last at least three months.