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Woman 'suffocated' at church
17/10/2005 22:18 - (SA)
Tisha Steyn , Die Burger
George - Jessica Wheeler, the 18-year-old woman whose half-naked body was found last week in a churchyard in Knysna, apparently suffocated because her face was pushed into the soil while she was being sodomised.
"Her mouth and throat were filled with soil and she suffocated," said Dr Mariette Hurst, the State pathologist in George, on Monday.
Wheeler's body was found in the garden of St George's Anglican Church in Main Street in Knysna on Thursday.
Police suspected she had been raped before being suffocated.
Hurst said Wheeler was not raped, but sodomised.
There were no indications of vaginal rape, and besides scrapes and bruises, there were no other injuries to her body.
Pixie du Toit, a forensic criminologist from Pretoria, explained the soil in the victim's mouth as follows: "The sexual predator throws the victim on her stomach and holds both her hands behind her back with one hand, forcing her shoulders and face into the ground."
This was in line with certain signs seen in the church's garden.
The ground in a flower bed next to the steel fence of the block of flats where Wheeler had lived, had been disturbed.
"The fact that the ground had been disturbed could be an indication that Wheeler struggled with her attacker."
Du Toit said Wheeler's death could have happened by accident.
"The sexual predator(s) might not have planned to kill her. It sounds like a rape gone wrong.
"From the circumstancial evidence, one can conclude that he/they might have wanted only to rape the victim, and that they might have got a fright when they found she had died.
"The fact that the body was about five metres from the fence to the lawn where she was found, could indicate that they tried to cover up the rape.
"This could also explain why she was wearing her G-string and why her jeans had been pulled half-way up her legs. They might have wanted it to seem like a random murder."
Du Toit said sodomy was the sexual predators' preferred sexual deed.
"Just like drug addicts crave stronger drugs, the sexual predator is looking for a stronger stimulant.
"At first, he's happy just to touch or penetrate. If that does not provide enough stimulation any more, he might demand oral sex.
"Sodomy, which is anal rape, is their sexual deed of preference."
She said the public was under a misconception that sodomy took place only between males.
"Anal rape happens more and more often," she said.
Was very anti-drugs
The results of forensic tests that will determine whether Wheeler was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the murder, are not available yet.
Roxanne Kay, 19, a friend of Wheeler's, said on Monday: "Jessica didn't use drugs. She was very anti-drugs."
Inspector Leon Koch of Knysna police station said there were no new leads.
Anybody with information that could cast light on the murder, can contact captain Sam Xamani at Knysna police station on 044 302 6600/8 or the Crimestop number 10111.
- Die Burger
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