Leigh's body moved to scene

2005-07-26 13:23

Johannesburg - Leigh Matthews was not murdered at the scene where her body was found, a pathologist testified at the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday.

Pathologist Hendrik Scholtz was testifying at the trial of Donovan Moodley, 25, who has pleaded guilty to all charges relating to the killing of Matthews.

Scholtz said a post-mortem indicated Matthews was not murdered in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, where her body was discovered.

He said the patterns of spattered blood and the lividity of the body were not consistent with her being murdered there.

There were also indications of rigor mortis. Due to the fact that rigor mortis disappears after 36 hours unless the body is exposed to temperatures of four degrees or less, the condition would not have been present if the body had not been moved, Scholtz told the court.

It emerged that the temperature in Walkerville at the time Matthews' body was found had been between five and 15 degrees Celsius.

Another inconsistency was the "marbling" effect on the body. This occurs when skin gets the appearance of marble due to the blood decomposing.

"You would expect the whole body to go through marbling," said Scholtz.

The absence of marbling was an indication Matthews was not killed at Walkerville.

"It (the body) was lying somewhere else."

Moodley's father, Stephen, was expected to testify in mitigation of sentence later on Tuesday.

- SAPA