A handwriting expert has told a court there was “strong support” to show that documents allegedly written by a man accused of murdering a Suffolk couple and a man who denies being him were written by the same person.

East Anglian Daily Times: The man the prosecution say is Ali Qazimaj which he deniesThe man the prosecution say is Ali Qazimaj which he denies (Image: Archant)

A handwriting expert has told a court there was “strong support” to show that documents allegedly written by a man accused of murdering a Suffolk couple and a man who denies being him were written by the same person.

Forensic scientist Oliver Thorne told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court he had been given documents found in a cell at Belmarsh prison occupied by a man claiming to be Vital Dapi and a number of documents written in the name of someone called Ali Qazimaj.

He said that having compared the handwriting in both sets of documents he had come to the conclusion there was “strong support” they were written by the same person.

The court has previously heard 75-year-old Peter Stuart and his 69-year-old wife Sylvia were reported missing by their daughter Christy on June 3 last year after they had not been seen for several days.

East Anglian Daily Times: Peter and Sylvia StuartPeter and Sylvia Stuart

A police search officer found Mr Stuart’s body partly hidden by a tarpaulin in a ditch in woodland near his home in Mill Lane, Weybread on June 3. However, his wife’s body has never been found.

Karim Khalil QC, prosecuting, has alleged the killings were carried out by Ali Qazimaj, a former asylum seeker who came to the UK in 1999.

However, Mr Khalil told the court the man the prosecution believed to be Qazimaj claimed his name was Vital Dapi and that he was the victim of mistaken identity.

He denies murdering Mr and Mrs Stuart.

Mr Khalil has alleged that Qazimaj, who lived in Tilbury, south Essex, knew of the Stuarts through a connection with their son-in-law Steven Paxman who is married to their daughter.

Mr Khalil told the court that on June 3 last year Qazimaj had resigned from his job at a recycling company in Essex and the following day he had allegedly driven to Dover where he caught a ferry after abandoning his Citroen.

Mr Khalil alleged that Peter Stuart’s DNA was found in blood on the driver’s door of the Citroen and hairs containing Mrs Stuart’s DNA were found in the boot.

The trial continues.