JOHANNESBURG - A Constable testifying in the trial of Sandile Mantsoe, who allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend Karabo Mokoena, told the South Gauteng High Court on Wednesday that Mokoena's body was burnt beyond recognition.
Constable Helen Mahwete testified that it was so badly burnt it was impossible to see whether it was a male or female.
"But when you took a closer look the toe nails had red nail polish, that's how we could tell it was a female."
Earlier Mahwete, a police detective, told the court she had been busy with another docket when she was told about a body found in Corlett drive.
"The body was seen by a person passing by but they weren't sure and when they passed again they called the police."
ALSO READ: #KaraboMokoena committed suicide, says Sandile Mantsoe
Mahwete said when she arrived on the scene she found her colleagues.
"The main street is Corlett drive and there's an open space with a ditch where it seems people from the informal settlement dumb rubbish in."
Mahwete said a construction worker pointed out the body to police.
"I spoke to him and asked him if there was anything else he saw besides the body. I looked around the body and found two lids that smelt like petrol. There was also a blue blanket that had blood stains as well as a plastic bag with blood stains."
The Constable said she called the mortuary vehicle and the body did not sustain any injuries while it was being transported.
"When I arrived at the police station she (a constable) introduced me to a woman and said the body we found was of her child Karabo Mokoena. When I asked how she knew, she said there was a suspect who was arrested who wanted to go point out the body."
Mahwete said when she was at the police cells what she heard was "shocking".
"This man [Mantsoe] was explaining how he was meant to do something that he couldn't even explain. What I heard is that what he did was what he had to do."
The trial continues on Thursday.