By Henriette Geldenhuys
Graeme Eadie, a hockey player from Fish Hoek in the Cape Peninsula, accused of beating motorist Kevin Duncan to death with his hockey stick in a fit of "road rage", claims he punched Duncan unconscious with his fists and kicked him.
When Eadie's counsel, Craig Webster, described to the Cape High Court on Monday how Eadie had continued assaulting Duncan after he had collapsed from the first punch to his temple, Duncan's widow, Carin, burst into tears and left the courtroom sobbing.
Webster said Eadie had punched Duncan many times on the head, then pulled him out of his vehicle. When Duncan fell at his feet, he stamped on Duncan's face.
Duncan's face was so swollen that his features could not be recognised, said forensic pathologist Yolande van der Heyde.
Eadie, 35, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murdering Duncan, 55, at the intersection of Kommetjie Road and Ou Kaapseweg in Sunnydale on June 12 last year.
Duncan allegedly irritated Eadie by flashing his headlights, gesturing that he wanted to pass Eadie.
After Eadie had allowed Duncan to pass, Duncan allegedly slowed down in front of him. At this point, the state alleges, Eadie got out of his car, approached Duncan and attacked him.
In his plea explanation, Eadie said he could not be held responsible for Duncan's death because he had been provoked and had been under severe emotional stress.
Eadie also said he had been under the influence of alcohol and had lacked the criminal capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
Evidence is that Eadie's blood alcohol level was higher than the legal limit.
"I admit that (Duncan) died as a result of the blows I inflicted," Eadie said.
He admitted attacking Duncan with his fists and feet, but denied beating him with a hockey stick.
State witness Gareth Hill testified that he he had seen Eadie hitting Duncan with a hockey stick. He drove past the two men while returning from St James to his Fish Hoek home.
Hill said Eadie had held the hockey stick by the hook and had jabbed Duncan forcefully on the side of the head with the other end.
Duncan had raised both hands to try to block the blows, Hill said.
"Then (Eadie) held the hockey stick (by) the shaft with both hands and tried to hit (Duncan) with the hook."
Hill said that by the time he had turned his vehicle around and had stopped at the scene, Eadie had disappeared and Duncan was lying on the ground next to his car.
"He was alive, but not for much longer. It looked as though he was shaking, struggling. He was choking."
Hill told the court he had been traumatised by the attack.
"It was an unbelievable shock - the fact that I saw a man beating another man and I saw the result, the man lying there next to his car."
Hill, who has low blood pressure, fainted while Webster cross-examined him about a contradiction in his evidence.
The defence asked Hill to explain why he had said in his testimony that he had witnessed Eadie jabbing Duncan once with the hockey stick, but in a statement to the police he said he had seen Eadie "hitting him several times and as often as possible".
Hill said he had seen Eadie striking many times, but wasn't sure whether Eadie had hit Duncan each time.
While he was explaining himself, Hill became pale and collapsed in the witness stand.
Court staff wiped his forehead and gave him water to revive him. The court was cleared to allow Hill to recover.
Eadie also pleaded not guilty to defeating the ends of justice by removing the hockey stick and hiding it in thick bush next to the road.
He also allegedly misled the police by hiding his blood-soaked jeans and handing over a different pair to police, claiming he had been wearing them at the time of Duncan's death.
Van der Heyde said Duncan had died of head injuries.
She said he had multiple facial abrasions, facial contusion and swelling. His skull and his facial and nasal bones had been fractured.
Three police inspectors and an employee of a tow-truck company also testified against Eadie on Monday.
The hearing continues on Tuesday.