Weight of bullets crucial evidence in pig farm murder case

The testimony of a ballistics expert has directly linked a murder-accused, now turned state witness, to the murders of two women who were shot and killed at aLimpopo farm and their bodies fed to pigs. Testifying at the Polokwane high court on Wednesday, W/O Nosiza Fortunate Mahlalela said one of the bullets used in the shooting and collected as evidence was from a .303 rifle. In his testimony last year,Adrian Rudolph de Wet, supervisor at the Limpopo pig farm, had said two rifles had been used on the night Maria Makgato and Lucadia Ndlovu were killed.

He testified that his boss and farm ownerZacharia Olivierhad armed himself with a .22 rifle, while he was given a .303 so they could go and shoot the people who were “stealing food meant for his pigs”. According to Mahlalela, they had received two bullets to determine which rifle was used to kill Makgato and Ndlovu when they were busy scavenging for expired dairy products at the farm. While the one bullet was linked to a .303 rifle, results of the second fragmented bullet were inconclusive.

However, it could not have been from a .22, she said. “It is undetermined which caliber it is because it was damaged, but due to the mass and width of the caliber, it cannot be a .22. “The full projectile was only damaged at the base.

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The fragment lost its entire nose and was flat. Again, the weight of the full bullet is 144.0 grams and the fragmented bullet is 82.8 grams. This means it cannot be a .22.

“The .22 has a mass of between 20 and 60 grams,” said Mahlalela. After Mahlalela’s testimony, the court called Lt-Col Simon Mafukaduvha, who had taken Olivier’s statement. However, the defence objected, saying it had been taken under duress.

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