A man accused of burglaries has been acquitted after a judge could not rule out the possibility his identical twin brother committed the string of offences.
Bronson Cross was found not guilty of burglary, fraud and taking a motor vehicle without consent charges, among other allegations, after an ACT Supreme Court trial late last month.
Prosecutors argued the only conclusion was Cross was the man captured on CCTV offending at three homes, a McDonald's in Queanbeyan and a petrol station in late 2023.
The judge-alone trial heard this was reinforced by the 21-year-old Karabar man contributing to mixed DNA profiles recovered from three motor vehicles involved.
However, Cross proposed the hypothesis his identical twin brother was in fact responsible for committing each crime and he had played no part in them.
Justice Louise Taylor made her decision in the circumstantial case after accepting the evidence of an expert, who said "every person's DNA is unique unto themselves unless they have a biological identical sibling".
"[The expert witness] explained that identical twins have 'the same DNA'," the judge said in remarks published on Monday.
The court received no evidence about Cross' brother's age or the pair being identical twins, beyond the "striking similarity in their physical appearance, as demonstrated in the [body-worn camera] footage".
Cross argued a black hooded jumper captured on CCTV during one burglary, which resembled a jumper found in his bedroom, was not unique.
The man also said the court could not rule out the significant likelihood of siblings sharing clothes or leaving clothing in each other's bedrooms. The two men were living together when Cross was arrested.
Cross pointed to other inconclusive evidence captured on CCTV, including that both him and his brother had a diamond earring in their right ears - matching one worn by an individual using a stolen credit card.
A moustache caught on video was also said to not help discern the siblings after the passage of time.
And despite Cross admitting he had driven a stolen Subaru WRX on October 18, 2023, he said that did not exclude the possibility his brother drove the same vehicle the day before during other offending.
The court heard no items stolen during the burglaries were found in Cross' bedroom.
Ultimately, none of the evidence presented to the court excluded Cross' brother as the person who committed the crimes in question.
Justice Taylor described the hypothesis consistent with innocence proposed by Cross as reasonable, "not far-fetched or fanciful", and found him not guilty on all counts.
"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.
