Deputy prosecutor general Henry Muhongo on Friday closed the State’s case against siblings Azaan Madisia (30) and Steven Mulundu (22), accused of murdering Shanon Ndatega Wasserfall.
Windhoek High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg then postponed the matter to 6 March for the defence’s case.
He will also deliver his ruling on that day on a section 174 application that Mulundu will bring on the murder and robbery charges. A 174 application is when an accused asks for the dismissal of charges against him/her for lack of evidence.
His Legal Aid lawyer Tanya Klazen indicated that she will apply for the murder and robbery charges to be dismissed for lack of evidence.
The judge gave her until 20 February to submit her arguments, and Muhongo until 23 February for his reply.
Mulundu already pleaded guilty on a charge of defeating the course of justice for his part in disposing the body of Wasserfall, although the State did not accept that plea.
Madisia pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances, but guilty on the charge of defeating the course of justice.
She also pleaded guilty on two counts of fraud for fraudulently claiming money from her insurer – Old Mutual – for a laptop and cellphone which were purportedly stolen from her.
On Friday, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination on the skeletal remains of Wasserfall said he could not definitively find the cause of death, as he could not find any fractures on her skull that could indicate head injury. He could also not determine whether the deceased suffered from any brain injury, as there was no brain to examine. This prompted Albert Titus, Madisia’s Legal Aid lawyer, to ask Dr Simasiku Kabandje whether or not he could rule out Madisia’s version of events. Madisia claimed that Wasserfall stumbled over her bed during a heated pushing battle between them, and hit her head on the wall and/or the floor and did not get up after that.
The physician could only say that he could not dismiss that possibility.
Muhongo also wanted to know what would cause the skin to turn blueish after death, to which the doctor explained that it could happen when a person does not get enough oxygen in their blood. He, however, explained further that the blueish discolouring would only appear on the part which is the lowest to the ground. Mulundu had said, in his plea explanation, that he could observe the blueish colour appeared on the frontal part of the deceased’s body, which would have meant that Wasserfall fell onto her front. This, the doctor said, meant that she must have been turned over after death ensued.
The doctor further said that not all head injuries cause skull fractures, and that the cause of death could have been soft tissue trauma, or any other factor, and that he is just not in a position to definitively determine what caused the death.
Titus indicated to court that Madisia will testify in her own defence when the trial resumes, but will not call any witnesses.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na