Blood sample belonging to Nathan Oliver

The Blood sample belonging to Nathan Oliver is a labeled phial recovered during the investigation into Nathan Oliver’s death. Hidden beneath butter and wrapped in foil, it turns an apparently ordinary tub into a concealed cache of evidence. Its identification is supported by the handwritten name and date on its label; the tests it was meant to undergo, and any results, remain unspecified in the available account.

Form and Concealment

The phial was one of two small packages wrapped in foil and buried beneath the top layer of butter in a tub. The other package contained a hair sample wrapped in tissue paper. This careful concealment kept both samples out of immediate view, so the blood appeared only when Kate Miskin scraped away the butter during a search. The phial still had its label attached, preserving the information needed to identify it.

Recovery and Handling

The discovery was made methodically. After the searchers noticed something inside the tub, Kate Miskin waited while Benton-Smith photographed the refrigerator and tub, then exposed the foil packages. He photographed the contents as they were uncovered. The label’s name and date were handwritten, which Benton-Smith considered sufficient for clear identification; he also noted that a paper describing the requested tests was not among the concealed items.

After documenting the find, Kate Miskin placed the phial, the hair sample, and the butter tub in an exhibit bag and sealed it. She and Benton-Smith both signed the label. Their excitement at finding the samples gave way to controlled evidence handling, preserving a record of the recovery rather than treating the discovery itself as a conclusion.

Evidentiary Significance and Limits

Benton-Smith connected the missing test instructions with tests Guy Staveley had wanted performed. The blood sample’s label identifies it as Nathan Oliver’s, while its concealment with a hair sample makes the two recovered items part of the same evidentiary discovery. The account does not specify what tests were requested, whether the samples were compared, or what any analysis showed. The phial therefore matters as recoverable, identified evidence, not as a reported scientific result.