ET semen 'may have been wiped off'

Semen seen in photos of slain rightwing leader Eugene Terre Blanche's body may have been wiped off before an autopsy was done, a pathologist said on Thursday.

"Perhaps when it [the body] was transported in a body bag it [the semen] was wiped off. I honestly don’t know," Dr Ruweida Moorad told the High Court sitting in Ventersdorp.

The State was questioning her medical examination of Terre Blanche.

A substance believed to be semen was seen in photographs of his body taken at the crime scene.

The substance was not visible when Moorad carried out her examination, but it was visible on the photos.

She said the body was refrigerated. Her autopsy was done on April 6, three days after he was brutally murdered.

Farmworker Chris Mahlangu and a minor are accused of beating and hacking the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader to death at his farmhouse in North West on April 3 last year.

Both have pleaded not guilty to murder, housebreaking, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Moorad said there were no acute injuries to Terre Blanche's rectum, but there was a linear abrasion on his right scrotum.

She noted that Terre Blanche was most likely lying down when he sustained a chop wound to the head.

She described the wound in detail and said she believed it was the first wound he sustained in the attack.

"It is my opinion that the injury to the head was the first injury, followed by the face, and then the chest and thighs," she testified.

"Such an injury would have rendered the deceased unconscious at the time."

The chop wound resulted in a laceration to the brain.

Terre Blanche sustained multiple fractures to, among others, his skull, ribs, and lower jaw.

There were bruises and lacerations on several parts of his body, including his tongue and liver. All the injuries were on the front of his body.

Moorad found no "typical defence" injuries indicating Terre Blanche attempted to fight off his attackers.

She agreed that Terre Blanche's wounds were consistent with those inflicted by a panga. The cause of death was blunt force to the head, chest and neck.

The trial continues.