For the second day in a row, the Courtney Pieters murder trial was put on hold on Tuesday as the State prosecutor, Esmeralda Cecil, was sick and unable to attend proceedings.
The self-confessed killer of three-year-old Courtney, Mortimer Saunders appeared calm, but even he seemed a little irritated at the delay Tuesday.
Since the High Court has reconvened the trial has been off to a slow start.
A trial within a trial is currently underway as the prosecution and defence lawyer, Morne Calitz, went back and forth arguing about the validity of extra testing done by pathologist, Professor Johan Dempers.
Dempers identified fluid found on Courtney’s crotch as her blood and said he believed she was alive when she was raped.
A police evidence recovery analyst, Warrant Officer Hildegarde Thunemann, testified last week that she had conducted presumptive tests on Courtney’s underwear, denim jeans and short-sleeved top.
The officer says she found evidence of visible blood on the crotch of the jeans which to her indicated that a sex act possibly occurred.
Calitz argued that the stain could’ve been caused by fluid released from the body during decomposition.
Saunders has denied raping the little girl, but admitted to violating her with his fingers.
The case resumes on Wednesday.