Maria Povlsen broke down in the Western Cape High Court on Monday when a witness presented pictures of the corpse of her husband she is accused of killing.
Danish millionaire Preben Povlsen was assaulted at his home in Gordon’s Bay on January 14, 2008.
His body was found six days later on Otto du Plessis Drive in Table View.
Maria Povlsen, her sister, Stella Ssengendo and a man they claimed was their brother, Francis Kimeze are facing charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The trio have pleaded not guilty.
Povlsen died of multiple injuries, 50 stab wounds, a broken neck and his body was partially burnt.
Linda Liebenberg from Forensic Pathology Services testified on behalf of Isabella Brouwer, the pathologist who examined Povlsen’s body.
Liebenberg made reference to a slideshow of pictures of Povlsen’s body taken at the Salt River Medico-Legal Laboratory on January 21, 2008.
The sight of her husband’s charred and decomposed body left Maria in tears. Her lawyer, William Booth, then asked the court whether they could refrain from viewing the pictures on the overhead projector.
Liebenberg explained to the court the condition of Povlsen’s body when it had been found.
“Povlsen’s body was in an advanced state of decomposition… had been refrigerated. In areas, the skin had yellow, leather-like parchments and his face had a mummified appearance.
“Bones in the victim’s neck were broken, his thyroid cartilage was fractured… commonly occurs during strangulation, as well as his spinal column. The cause of this fracture could be that his head was pulled too far back,” she said. - Cape Times