Cape Town - A forensic pathologist, Dr Laura Peddle, on Tuesday concluded her evidence regarding the “slow painful death” of Christel Moseadie, allegedly killed by her cousin in November 2019.
Andrew Moseadie is on trial in the Western Cape High Court, charged with the murder, rape and robbery of the 36-year-old Hout Bay woman.
Peddle was questioned by State advocate Mbulelo Koti. She testified that the ligature was tied so tight around the woman’s neck that it caused her tongue to protrude from her mouth.
Going through her post-mortem examination and the observations she made from the woman’s corpse, she said only six of the wounds on her body were defensive wounds, while most of the slain woman’s injuries were internal.
Adv. Koti asked what position Christel’s killer would have been in, to inflict the defensive injuries, Peddle said, “It’s most likely they were facing each other because most of the wounds are anterior.”
Advocate Koti said that in Moseadie’s plea explanation, he admitted that he was overcome with anger when he attacked Christel.
As Peddle concluded her evidence, Judge Mondi Samela asked if Peddle would describe Christel’s death as, “slow and painful”. She concurred. She said the time frame of the woman’s strangulation would have lasted 10-15 minutes.
Peddle said from her observation there was evidence showing significant pressure to the internal layers of the neck.
In his plea explanation, Moseadie said he had consensual sex with the victim. However, Peddle was unable to confirm or refute this version. Peddle also confirmed to the judge her qualification in forensic medicine.
Another witness, Hout Bay resident Ivan Samuels, was also called to the stand yesterday. Samuels testified that he saw Moseadie in the graveyard on the day of the crime and assumed that he was digging something out of a grave site.
Advocate Koti asked him how he saw Moseadie that day. He replied, “I went to check what the person was doing because I knew there was nobody working in the graveyard (at that time) … I didn’t take note of what he was using to dig because I was very far, maybe 100 metres.”
Samuels said when he approached Moseadie that Wednesday morning to ask him what he was doing in the graveyard, the man scurried away without a word. “I asked him what he was doing, he didn’t answer me.”
The trial continues.