Despite fresh tests done on decomposed tissue collected from the body of three-year-old Courtney Pieters, an expert witness is still unable to conclude whether the little girl was raped before or after death.
State pathologist Johan Dempers Tuesday told the court red blood cells had been present in the decomposed tissue taken from the child’s vaginal area.
“These are red cells, there is no way to say if it bled into the tissue before the person died or after,” said Dempers.
“My conclusion is there are red cells, there is blood.”
State prosecutor Esmeralda Cecil told the court Dempers had conducted fresh tests on decomposed tissue and the evidence had not been available before.
She said rape and murder accused, Mortimer Saunders, 42, would not suffer any prejudice.
SLAIN: Courtney Pieters was vergif. Photo: Supplied
In June, Dempers told the court post-mortem findings were that Courtney suffered blunt force trauma to her face, torso and limbs.
He said the genital autopsy showed the vaginal orifice, not the hymen, would rupture when it was over-extended.
He could not conclude whether Courtney was raped before or after she had died.
In his plea statement, Saunders admitted to poisoning Courtney with ant poison which led to her death, but denied raping her.
Instead, he said he had “penetrated her corpse with three fingers”.
However, an autopsy report found semen in the child’s vagina.
Saunders’ lawyer, Morne Calitz asked for the matter to be postponed to 20 August for his own expert who was in KwaZulu-Natal to comment on Dempers’ conclusion.
Courtney went missing from her Salberau Estate home in May and was found buried in a shallow grave in Epping Industria.
Saunders had been boarding with the family at the time.