AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche was lying on his bed when he was attacked, he never made it upright to defend himself and his hands showed no signs of self-defence, according to police forensic expert Colonel Ian Van der Nest.
Van der Nest, who specialises in crime scene reconstruction, took the stand in the trial of 28-year-old Chris Mahlangu and a teenager accused of the murder, housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the crime that took place on April 3 last year.
Van der Nest’s testimony came as a blow to the defence, which has claimed that Mahlangu had fought with Terre’Blanche and acted in self-defence.
Van der Nest testified that blood spatter stains on the curtains, walls and door show that the right-wing leader was taken by surprise when he received “multiple blows administered using a heavy object”.
He said blood stains showed that Terre’Blanche tried to sit up before receiving a blow to his head but after the first strike there “was no movement”.
In short, Terre’Blanche was disturbed by something, started to sit up but then was knocked out cold.
The lack of visible marks on his hands showed that the right-wing leader had not offered any self-defence.
Van der Nest also testified that blood stain patterns showed that Terre’Blanche’s pants were open before he was attacked.
Van der Nest suggested he had probably opened his shorts for comfort when lying down “due to his large stomach”.
“When one observes stains with so many directionalities [sic], more than one incident for blood spatter … an extreme amount of force was used”, he said.
He also added that large amounts of blood showed that a large object with a large surface area was used to beat Terre’Blanche.
Van der Nest will now be cross-examined.
For more on the life and times of the slain AWB leader, visit our special report.
