The exact time Chanel du Toit was killed was the focus of testimony in court, where her husband, Johan, is on trial.
|||Cape Town - The exact time Chanel du Toit was killed on a Franschhoek wine estate nearly three years ago was the focus of testimony on Wednesday in the Paarl Regional Court, where her husband, Johan, is on trial.
Johan du Toit, who has pleaded not guilty to murder, appeared calm as he sat in the dock listening to the evidence of forensic pathologist Dr Deidre Abrahams.
Abrahams told the court she performed the autopsy on Chanel du Toit, 28, on July 8, 2010, a day after her body was found in the hilltop cottage she and her husband shared on the Dieu Donne Wine Estate.
She said Chanel had been strangled.
She also found evidence that pressure had been applied to her mouth and nose, blocking her air passage.
“The cause of death was manual strangulation and obstruction to the airways with secondary asphyxia.”
She said she went to the cottage around 1pm on July 7, 2010, to establish the time of death.
Abrahams found Chanel’s naked body in her bedroom, covered with a blanket. There was no evidence of sexual assault.
Chanel was lying on her right side. The bedroom and front doors were open.
Abrahams said that to determine the time of death she examined the room temperature, Chanel’s body temperature and the position of her body.
Later, after conducting the post-mortem and taking into account Chanel’s weight of 68kg and other factors, she concluded that Chanel had died at about 8pm on July 6.
Another Franschhoek doctor, who is the State’s next witness, declared Chanel had died at about 8am on July 7. This doctor had noted that Chanel’s body was stiff and cold.
But Abrahams said this was consistent with her finding that Chanel had been dead for between eight and 36 hours before her body was found.
William Booth, for Johan du Toit, said Johan would deny he was responsible for his wife’s death.
Johan had left the wine farm at about 2am on July 7 for a planned trip to Namaqualand.
On Wednesday, Booth and prosecutor Enslin Orange placed on record their findings after an inspection in loco of the property held on Tuesday.
Booth reiterated that there was no fencing or gates enclosing the wine estate.
“In summary, there are a number of unrestricted access and exit points around the cottage where Chanel du Toit was found,” Booth said.
Abrahams is expected to continue her testimony on Thursday.
jade.otto@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
