Fingerprints found on a vehicle seized by police match those of Christopher Alexander Falconer, a fingerprint expert testified in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Pictou on Tuesday.

RCMP Cpl. Matthew Mader attended a scene in Heathbell, N.S. on Oct. 15, 2011 after clothing belonging to 19-year-old Amber Kirwan was discovered in the area.

Mader testified that he took aerial photos of the Heathbell Road area and also took photos of items seized at the scene, including clothing.

The court heard last week that Crown witnesses Nathan Goodall and Lisa Williams were walking in the area when they discovered a pair of leggings and a feathered earring – items worn by Kirwan the night she disappeared.

The couple, who live in the area, phoned police and a search was launched in the area shortly after.

Kirwan’s partly decomposed body was eventually discovered in a muddy, shallow grave off the logging road on Nov. 5, 2011.

The discovery was made about a month after she disappeared following a night out with friends at Dooly’s pool hall and bar in New Glasgow. She was last spotted leaving Dooly’s in the early hours of Oct. 9, 2011.

Her boyfriend, Mason Campbell, testified last week that she was supposed to meet him at a nearby convenience store but she never showed up. Campbell’s car was seized by police after Kirwan disappeared but he was quickly ruled out as a suspect.

Mader told the court he was part of the team that seized Campbell’s car and that he examined the vehicle for three days.

He said the vehicle was full of items, such as clothing, tape, a shovel, car parts, a roadside kit, empty fireworks box and uneaten sandwich.

He said many of the items in the trunk were covered in dust, which indicated that nothing had been moved in the truck “for a period of time.”

Mader testified he also examined a vehicle driven by Falconer that was seized by police in connection with the investigation.

The court heard that Mader took photos of a stained tank top seized from the 2001 grey Chevy Impala. Mader testified that the stain tested positive for human blood, as did an empty Sobeys bag found in the trunk.

Mader said fingerprints lifted from the bag matched those of Falconer, whose fingerprints were taken when he was arrested at the Dorchester Penitentiary on May 16, 2012.

He also testified Falconer’s fingerprints were lifted from the roof and hood of the vehicle.

Mader was also present when a forensics team searched a property belonging to Falconer’s stepsister on Hardwood Hill Road from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11, 2011.

The jury followed along, examining photos of items seized from a camper on the property, as Mader described what he found in Heathbell.

The court heard that a towel, duct tape and black cloth were found inside the camper and that hair and fibres were removed from blankets on the bed.

However, during cross-examination, Mader testified that Falconer’s fingerprints were not found at the scene.

Falconer is charged with first-degree murder in Kirwan’s death. He has pleaded not guilty.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh