A detective has told a jury about the international effort to find footwear that left distinctive footprints at the scene where Feilding farmer Scott Guy was killed.
Mr Guy's brother-in-law, Ewen Macdonald, is on trial at the High Court in Wellington and has denied murdering him in July 2010.
Detective Laurie Howell said police managed to identify several footprints found at the scene and eliminate them from the enquiry.
However he said they combed sources worldwide, including an FBI database, to find the footwear, which made a distinctive wavy pattern found by Mr Guy's body.
In cross-examination Detective Howell said he believed it would have been difficult to order over the internet a pair of the Proline dive boots that made the prints.
Earlier the court heard Detective Glen Jackson say that in April 2011 he measured the distance from the laundry at Ewen Macdonald's home to the nearby workshop, where Mr Macdonald's working day began on the day Scott Guy died.
He said the distance was 80.4 metres and it took him just over a minute to walk between the two places.
Mr Jackson was also asked about a cigarette packet found at the murder scene.
He said he could not exclude it from being one of several stolen from a Palmerston North house around the time of the killing.
House full
Public interest in the trial is unwaning, with a line of people queuing for a seat in the public gallery of the High Court in Wellington.
The house full sign is up again, with about a dozen people queuing outside the courtroom in case a seat becomes available.
