Man acquitted after prosecution 'failed to exclude' identical twin theory

The “reasonable hypothesis” of a man’s identical twin committing a string of crimes in Canberra and Queanbeyan instead of him has seen him acquitted.

Bronson Cross faced charges including aggravated burglary, fraud and driving a car without consent over alleged offending from September and October 2023.

During the trial, Mr Cross suggested his identical twin was responsible for committing the offences, and he was not involved.

In the ACT Supreme Court, in a judge-only trial over two days in late August, Justice Louise Taylor found evidence, such as a black hoodie and DNA taken from a car, did not prove Mr Cross committed the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The prosecution has failed to exclude a reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence, that being that the accused’s brother was the offender,” Justice Taylor stated in her recently released sentencing remarks.

“Accordingly, the accused must be acquitted on all counts of the indictment and on the transferred related charges.”

Justice Taylor said the prosecution relied on a circumstantial case.

During the trial, the prosecution’s evidence included CCTV footage from two Yarralumla homes, a home in Nicholls and a McDonald’s in Queanbeyan in NSW.

The CCTV from Yarralumla captured one of the offenders wearing a black hooded jumper with blue capitalised text across the chest, as well as black sneaker-style shoes and black jogger-style pants.

Both a jumper and shoes, “consistent in appearance” with those on the CCTV footage, were found in Cross’s bedroom when police carried out a search warrant on 26 October 2023.

Mr Cross was seen wearing jogger-style pants “consistent in appearance” in body-worn camera footage of his arrest.

However, the court found the possibility of the Cross brothers sharing clothes or storing clothes in each other’s bedrooms could not be ruled out.

The two men were living together when Mr Cross was arrested.

The prosecution pointed to a diamond earring the offender wore in his right ear, captured on CCTV from the McDonald’s.

Body-worm camera footage showed his twin also wore a diamond earring that also matched the depiction in the CCTV footage.

Mr Cross has admitted to stealing a car, a Subaru WRX, from a Weston home in October 2023.

During the trial, the court heard a theory both Mr Cross and his twin had access to the Subaru.

“It was submitted to be entirely possible that one brother drove the vehicle one day, and the other brother drove the vehicle the next day,” said Justice Taylor.

The court heard expert testimony from a forensic biologist with the Australian Federal Police, who examined and interpreted DNA results from samples taken from three motor vehicles involved in the alleged offending.

A DNA swab from the Subaru’s steering wheel was tested, and a mixed DNA profile was returned, consisting of at least two people.

Justice Taylor accepted evidence from the expert that identical twins had “the same DNA” and that it is “impossible to exclude one [twin] from being a contributor to the other’s DNA profile”.

Additionally, none of the stolen items were found in Mr Cross’s bedroom.

Overall, Justice Taylor said the possibility of Mr Cross’s identical twin being responsible was “not farfetched or fanciful”.

“It is clearly open on the evidence before the court in circumstances where it cannot be excluded that the accused’s brother is his identical twin, and the evidence does not allow for the accused’s brother to be otherwise excluded as the offender,” she said.