[This also mentions that the murder occurred on January 31st 2004… Going back to the mysterious finger… it laid there for the best part of a year untouched??? Jan]

Phalaborwa – Forensic pathologist Leon Wagner will continue to be cross examined in the Phalaborwa circuit court on Wednesday on his evidence in defence of lion-murder accused Mark Scott-Crossley.

Scott-Crossley, 37, and co-accused Simon Mathebula, 43, are charged with the alleged murder of farm worker Nelson Chisale, 41.

Chisale was beaten and then thrown to lions in an encampment at Mokwalo White Lion project on January 31 last year.

Both accused have pleaded not guilty.

In his evidence-in-chief on Tuesday, Wagner concluded that Chisale was probably dead before he was fed to the lions.

He said this was based on information he had been provided about panga wounds sustained by Chisale in the assault.

Prosecutor Ivy Thenga began her cross-examination on Tuesday by quizzing Wagner about the amount of blood police detected in the back of the bakkie, used to take Chisale to the camp.

The mere washing off of any blood would not be enough to remove all remnants of haemoglobin – the red pigment in blood – detected by the chemical Lumisol, which was used by the police, Wagner told the court.

“Lumisol does not lie. It still picks up residual evidence,” he testified.

It would be even more difficult to remove blood from an irregular surface such as that applied to the back of the bakkie used to transport Chisale, he responded to questions by Thenga.

Wagner was unable to say whether the blood found on the bakkie was from a person who was dead or alive.

Source: News24.Com
URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New…/p>