Robin Bain Suicide: How he could have held the rifle [PICTURE]

SHOOT: Still doesn't explain why he had no blood besides his own on his clothes, and David had the blood of all family members on his.

clipped from www.stuff.co.nz A defence expert has introduced a new angle to the Bain trial by suggesting Robin Bain could have killed himself by holding the rifle as much as 22cm from his head. Philip Boyce, a United Kingdom forensic firearms expert, used the murder rifle in the High Court in Christchurch today to show the jury how a person of Robin Bain's build could have positioned the rifle to inflict the same fatal wound Robin sustained. Shown photographs of Robin Bain's body in the lounge of the Bain house, Boyce said the position of Robin's body was quite consistent with the various suicide positions he had already demonstrated. The same was true about where the rifle was found, he said. Robin Bain had applied for a period of leave which coincided with the deaths of his family, the Bain trail was told today. David Bain’s mother stayed in bed on Christmas Day and would not talk to her daughter for weeks, the High Court in Christchurch was told today.