Accused of murdering a retired Austrian footballer, Thokozisi Msani is preparing to defend himself by denying that he ever made a statement to the police or showed them where the murder weapon was to be found.

During proceedings in the Ramsgate High Court on Wednesday, where the 26-year-old man and his 22-year-old brother Simo Msani are being tried for the murder of 43-year-old Peter Burgstaller, Thokozisi Msani's advocate Thulane Shange said: "My client will deny that he made any statement to the police.

"My client will deny that he pointed the police to where the gun was found."

The contents of the statement that the elder Msani brother made to police were not revealed in court.

During the cross-examination of Detective Inspector Yugen Moodley, Shange questioned him as to whether the elder Msani had been assaulted at the time of his arrest.

Moodley, from the Scottburgh police station, said he did not witness any incident and that while he was at the Msani residence, members of the police's organised crime unit had entered the house and effected the arrest.

"I was not in the house when they arrested him, but if they had assaulted him I would have heard a shout or a cry for help," said Moodley.

He said he was outside the house, in the Pennington area.

A grim scene

Moodley told the court that he was one of the first detectives at the crime scene and was in control of the crime scene until he handed the case over to the organised crime unit.

He said that he did not disturb the body, but could see that Burgstaller's pockets had been emptied.

Burgstaller, who arrived in South Africa on the morning of 23 November last year, was hoping to meet with Fifa delegates attending the preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup. He was found dead on the 12th tee of the exclusive estate and had been robbed of his wallet and his cellphone.

Moodley told the court that he had phoned his informants in the area and told them that they should keep an eye out for anyone selling a phone and foreign currency.

Once Burgstaller's room had been inspected and detectives found a Nokia charger, informants, including Zwelo Mngoma, said that the phone was likely to be a Nokia.

Giving testimony on Tuesday, Mngoma told the court how he had been offered a Nokia 9300 for R800 by the Msani brothers.

Moodley told the court that the Mngoma was thrown into the same cell as the Msani brothers in the hope that more information could be obtained.

"We needed him (Mngoma) to get more information about the cellphone and (more information about) accused number one's (Thokozisi Msani) brother (Simo Msani).

The question of assault

Asked if he had seen Thokozisi Msani being assaulted at the police station, Moodley said Msani was joking and laughing with officers at Umzinto police station after his arrest.

"He said 'Here comes Baba (father) Yugen. And he will sort everything out.' He and us, we all laughed."

A trial within a trial is expected to start on Thursday as the State attempts to prove that Thokozisi did indeed make a statement and show police where the murder weapon was hidden.

Earlier in the day it emerged that Burgstaller had very little chance of survival, even if paramedics had found him seconds after was shot.

"Even if he was resuscitated, it was going to be difficult for him to survive this injury," said Ugu district chief medical officer Dr Lekram Alli, who carried out the post mortem on Burgstaller.

Alli said the bullet "perforated" Burgstaller's lung and caused "a laceration of the heart".

A slow death

"He didn't die instantaneously. He bled to death. It could have been a few seconds to a few minutes before he died," said Alli.

A quarter of a litre of blood was found in Burgstaller's right chest cavity.

The ex-footballer had been shot in the right side of his chest. The bullet went through him and exited his back. Burgstaller did not sustain any other wounds, Alli testified.

Forensics analyst Captain Mlungisi Mzimela said the cartridge he examined had marks that matched a 9mm CZ Model 83 semi-automatic pistol.

Thokozisi Msani was initially arrested for being in possession of an unlicensed weapon. Police using a metal detector found the cartridge on the 12th tee of the Selborne Estate golf course where Burgstaller's body was found by security personnel.

Mzimela said the pistol had been badly maintained, which resulted in more unique distinguishing marks on the shell casing.

Sapa