Forensic album presented in Griquatown trial

Don and Christelle Steenkamp

Kimberley - A police photo album containing gruesome pictures of the victims of the 2012 Easter weekend Griekwastad farm killings was presented to the Northern Cape High Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Hannes Cloete was leading the evidence-in-chief of Lieutenant Andre McAnda, forensic scene investigator, and the first forensic policeman on the scene.

A 16-year-old boy is accused of murdering Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14.

The album contains 146 photos taken on the crime scene on the night after the incident.

Part of the photo album indicates how the victims were found by the first policeman on the scene.

Farmer Deon Steenkamp was found on his stomach, as was his wife Christelle. Their daughter Marthella was found on her side, next to her mother.

The woman's clothes and the girl’s neon-green shirt were blood-stained.

McAnda explained each photo in the album, including those of blood spatters at the back door of the Naauwhoek farm house.

He testified that, to limit contamination, all policeman on the scene wore personal protective equipment (PPE), also known as “moon suits”, which covered them from head to toe.

The album also showed possible blood splatter on the tile floor of the kitchen, on a kitchen cupboard and on a black Telkom phone on the kitchen counter.

The phone handset was off the hook. There appeared to be blood smears on the phone and on the counter next to the phone.

When the court was shown photos of the victims' faces on a big screen in the courtroom, the boy averted his eyes.

McAnda testified that two cooldrink glasses were found on the ground outside the kitchen area. The kitchen's stable door was damaged.

The case continues. - Sapa