Blood-spatter expert's illness delays Van Breda trial

A crucial week in the Van Breda triple-axe murder trial was delayed for a day on Monday.

Captain Marius Joubert‚ a police blood spatter expert who also testified in the Oscar Pistorius trial‚ was meant to take the stand. But prosecutor Susan Galloway told Judge Siraj Desai that Joubert had fallen ill and would be available only next week.

In the meantime‚ other state witnesses had agreed to come in earlier than scheduled and would testify from tomorrow.

Defence counsel Piet Botha complained to Desai that “gross inaccuracies” about the trial had appeared in the Afrikaans press over the weekend. The reports he referred to were about evidence on DNA analysis which took up the whole of last week.

Desai urged the press to ensure that reporting was fair and accurate at all times.