How could a woman with Christian values, who had the nickname "Ice Queen" among varsity friends and was vehemently opposed to tattoos and piercings, become the infamous Advocate Barbie?
How did Cezanne Visser change from a loving child, respectful of her parents, to a woman who did not shy away from having oral sex in front of her mother?
These questions were partly answered this week when the head of clinical psychology at Weskoppies Hospital, Professor Jonathan Scholtz took the stand in defence of Visser, 31.
Visser is facing 14 charges, mostly of a sexual nature, and while she did not dispute most of the charges, her defence is that she was under Dirk Prinsloo's spell.
Visser was earlier referred to Weskoppies Hospital for observation. Then trial judge, Essop Patel, who has since died, posed questions which the psychiatrists at the hospital had to answer.
These included whether she had been abused by Prinsloo and, if so, what impact it had on her sense of judgment.
Scholtz started by telling the court what battered woman syndrome entailed. According to his explanation, Visser's profile fitted this pattern.
He said while Visser feared Prinsloo, she also felt sorry for him at times. He said this illustrated the emotional dependence she had on him - a common phenomenon among battered women. Scholtz said it was significant to him that when he asked her whether Prinsloo was a bad person, Visser said what he did was bad, but that he was not necessarily a bad person.
"Her feelings were not simply negative. This type of bonding (with the abuser) can sometimes go on for several years."
He said Visser had been "scripted" by Prinsloo - common among battered women - to the extent that she did things she would not normally have done.
He said her parents' unhappy marriage, the values instilled in her during childhood and her low self-esteem had made her the perfect target for Prinsloo and, while she was highly intelligent, she was naive. Prinsloo had charmed her and treated her like a princess. He, in turn, became her "brave heart, her king".
Scholtz said an example of this was that her name would appear as "princess" on Prinsloo's cellphone, and he had referred to her as such.
Scholtz related how the young Visser's parents had fought in front of her - their only child, and said Visser had been taught that one had to endure bad experiences.
During her childhood, Visser's father had threatened to commit suicide and kill the family - yet her parents pretended to others that it was the perfect family.
Visser hardly ever cried or showed emotion, but instead became submissive. She was also brought up with the notion that one should stay loyal to a cause, the court was told.
Scholtz said Visser had suffered a double blow shortly before meeting Prinsloo: she failed the Bar exam and her first serious boyfriend dumped her.
Prinsloo systematically pulled her into his web, showing her the pornography he kept scattered around his home, which was dubbed "The Inner Circle Castle". Scholtz said Prinsloo and Visser had never talked about what happened at the "inner circle" and had the mindset, "us versus them". Scholtz said it was interesting to note that Prinsloo had been a big fan of Hitler.
Prinsloo took complete control over Visser - her appearance, what she ate, when she slept and with whom she spoke. He would have a full dinner for example and she was allowed only salad. She was exposed to perverse sexual acts with multiple partners. Scholtz said Prinsloo had even forced her into sexual acts with the family dog.
Earlier in the week Visser's mother, Susan Lemmer, told the court, "She was always a loving child who showed us respect. But she changed after she met Prinsloo. When we met him for the first time, he told us Cezanne was a rough diamond. We did not like (him)."