Bredasdorp teen ‘kicked, punched and strangled’
A pathologist has told a court murdered teen Elda Japhta was kicked, punched and strangled by her killer before slipping into a coma and dying.
|||Cape Town - A pathologist has told a court murdered teen Elda Japhta was kicked, punched and strangled by her killer before slipping into a coma and dying.
This was the testimony of Dr Louise Kruger at the trial of Gift Sibondo at the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.
The Zimbabwean national is facing nine charges relating to the murder of his 15-year-old girlfriend in May last year.
Elda’s battered remains were found under the accused’s bed at the home they shared at the Zwelitsha informal settlement in Bredasdorp.
On Wednesday Dr Kruger said the girl died as a result of shock due to widespread trauma, severe bleeding into the brain and strangulation.
She found widespread bruises across Elda’s body, abrasions consistent with the body being dragged on a hard surface and other wounds which covered 45 percent of her body.
The teen’s wounds, mostly on her back, thighs and head, came from being repeatedly punched or hit with a blunt object, like a stick.
She added that blows to the head led to bleeding to the brain and she was strangled with a piece of clothing and stabbed on her thigh.
Plant debris found on the deceased’s buttocks suggests she was attacked outside before being dressed in other clothing.
“This was a very violent attack, the victim was a small female that is considered a defenceless child,” the doctor said.
“She suffered repeated blows; she was hit with sticks, punched, kicked, possibly stomped on and strangled.
“This attacked lasted until she lost consciousness; she slipped into a coma until she died.”
Daily Voice