Johannesburg - There is no scientific proof that brake fluid can cause disorientation if consumed, the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in Palm Ridge, heard on Monday.
This was the submission of a lawyer representing Courtney Daniels, one of four people accused of killing Kirsty Theologo in Johannesburg in 2011.
It was alleged that Theologo, 18, and her 14-year-old friend were given alcohol laced with brake fluid before they were assaulted and set alight in an alleged Satanic ritual at a Linmeyer hill in October 2011.
Enrico Guarneri, for Daniels, told the court there had been no evidence to suggest that Theologo or her friend were ever given any medical treatment for consuming the fluid.
Theologo died of her injuries in hospital, a week after the attack, which her friend survived.
Daniels, Lindon Wagner, Harvey Isha and Robin Harwood are on trial for murder and attempted murder.
In previous proceedings, Wagner, who allegedly masterminded the plot, said brake fluid had the same effects as a date-rape drug.
He said brake fluid was taken to the hill on the day the ritual was conducted.
It was alleged that Daniels laced the drinks with the fluid.
The court was told that Daniels was recruited to the soul-selling ritual just a few days before it was carried out.
Guarneri said his client had been consumed by curiosity, and did not think the other accused were serious about killing Theologo.
“She was more naive,” he said in his closing argument.
He asked the court to take into consideration that Daniels was just 16-years-old when the crime was committed.
Guarneri is expected to continue his closing arguments on Tuesday.
Earlier, Gail Sidwell, for Harwood, said in her closing arguments that he had been afraid to back out of the ritual as he had feared Wagner.
“He couldn’t just leave.... There was Lindon with a knife, and he had just seen him stone Kirsty,” she said.
“He (Harwood) had a genuine intention to disassociate himself from hurting Kirsty.”
In previous proceedings, the court was also told that Harwood and Theologo had a brief relationship.
“When they got back down the hill, he said to the others that he could not believe what had just happened and what they had just done,” said Sidwell.
The group had allegedly planned to sacrifice Theologo as part of a soul-selling ritual.
They believed that Theologo to be a prostitute spoken of in the Bible and that she had to be sacrificed to raise the beast spoken of in the book of Revelations.
Another accused, Isha, said he had played no part in the attack.
He had told the court that he froze and watched from behind a tree as the attack was carried out.
Details of the attack surfaced during the Wagner's testimony several weeks ago.
He told the court he repeatedly hit Theologo on the head with a rock, doused her with petrol and set her alight.
He said he had hoped to gain power from selling his soul.
He and the other accused had burnt a Bible and dripped their blood in the flames, but nothing happened.
Wagner told the court “something had come over him” when he participated in the ritual.
He said he had loved Theologo and that they were close friends.
During Monday’s proceedings, family members of the accused and some of Theologo’s relatives were present in court.
Theologo’s family said they were glad that the trial was drawing to an end.
After the proceedings, Isha’s mother hugged all the accused as they were led back to the cells.
Isha and the other two men implicated in the killings have been in jail since 2011. Daniels has been in the custody of her parents.
Two other men, Jeremy King and Lester Moody earlier confessed to the killings. They were sentenced to 17-years in prison, five of which were suspended.
Sapa