“The skull completely detached from the spinal cord,” she said.
Abrahams said it seemed like the mom was hit from the back and fell on her face, landing on her chin.
She said Zarah sustained three more blows to the right side of her head.
In her summary Abrahams said: “A minimum of five blows to the head was applied with such a severe force from a blunt object. She was hit from the mid-head and below the back of her head. It is possible she could have fallen forward, decapitating the head from the neck, landing her face to the ground.
“The attacker came from behind. The weapon used was a flat round type of object. It could fit in with a hammer with the smaller round part.”
CHARGED WITH MURDER: Tawfeeq Ebrahim
She pointed out a hammer in a photo exhibit that was most likely used in the murder.
Defence advocate Peter Burgers during cross examination referred to the tik lolly found in Zarah’s bra.
“Tik inhalation pre-
exposes users to nose bleeds?” he questioned.
Abrahams replied: “That may be so, but we did not see specific nasal bleeds in this case.”
Zarah went missing on 14 March 2016. Her body was found on a Klein Drakenstein farm 10 days later.
Renaldo van Rooyen and Tawfeeq Ebrahim were charged with murder.