When Doreen Sihlali was allegedly stabbed and beaten to death by her son‚ she did not put up a fight.Doreen's son‚ Daluxolo‚ 42‚ is on trial in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for killing his mother‚ allegedly over outstanding bond repayments and gambling.The body of Doreen‚ 58‚ was discovered in the home she shared with her son in Naturena‚ in the south of Johannesburg‚ on September 2 last year. She was killed some time in the five preceding days but the exact date cannot be ascertained.The dreadlocked Sihlali‚ who has pleaded not guilty‚ sat in court on Friday‚ coughing intermittently as he listened to the testimony of pathologist Dr Madinane Peter‚ who conducted the autopsy on Doreen.When the court adjourned for a break‚ he asked magistrate Simon Radasi if he may borrow a newspaper‚ belonging to a court official‚ to read in the holding cells.His attorney Leonita Abramowitz previously told the court that Sihlali‚ who is in custody‚ has a history of mental illness.In a statement made to police in September last year‚ Sihlali admitted that he killed his mother.He said that they argued because she had not paid the instalments due on her bond and the bank was threatening to repossess the house. He alleged that she had a gambling habit.He claimed that he and his mother fought physically and he accidentally stabbed her.“The reason we were fighting was not to kill her but for her to pay the bond‚” he said.Sihlali later withdrew those claims in court‚ saying that he had not been read his rights when he made the statement.The court‚ however‚ ruled that Sihlali had understood the seriousness of the statement he had made and allowed it as evidence.Peter testified that Doreen had sustained a stab wound to the left of her neck‚ two cuts to her forehead and cuts to the back of her head‚ under which her skull was fractured in an oval shape.The wound to Doreen's neck was caused by a sharp object‚ in a downward motion‚ and punctured a large blood vessel Peter said. This would have resulted in large amounts of blood gushing from Doreen's neck‚ she said.The injuries to Doreen's forehead and neck were probably caused by the same sharp object‚ Peter said.She told the court that the oval-shaped skull fracture would have been inflicted with a large amount of blunt force and could have been the work of a hammer.The blunt force trauma to Doreen's head and the stab wound to her neck both contributed to her death‚ Peter said.The case was postponed to August 3 for a DNA report. -TMG Courts and Law..