Cellphone, blood-spatter analyses hold up Irish aid worker murder trial

An analysis of Mitspa Onyoka's online history is one of the outstanding elements in the investigation into the murder of Irish aid worker John Curran.

Onyoka, 24, allegedly murdered Curran, 60, in his Cape Town city centre flat in November.

Onyoka was arrested after CCTV footage from the elevator in Curran's building in  Buitengracht Street placed him at the crime scene shortly before and after the  murder.

Prosecutor Adiel Jansen said blood-spatter analysis and DNA evidence was also outstanding.

He said an application had also been made to secure data from Onyoka's cellphone, specifically his web-browsing history.

"These outstanding queries take time. We will request a postponement," said Jansen.

The matter will resume in August.

The soft-spoken Onyoka, who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told the Cape Town Magistrate's Court through a French interpreter on Thursday that he could not afford his newly appointed lawyer and had enlisted the services of another law firm.

He remains in custody.