I was a coward – Madisia

"I know what I did was wrong and I wish I could take it back. I wish I said something earlier. I feel sorry for her parents and her family. Nothing I say can change what happened. I don't know how I can look [her son] in the eyes again, he is so close to my heart. I was inconsiderate by being a coward."

Azaan Madisia said this in the witness stand yesterday when she apologised to Shannon Wasserfall's loved ones.

During her testimony, Madisia claimed she never intended to harm or kill Wasserfall, whose body was found in a shallow grave six months after she went missing.

"I never had the intention [to kill her]. That day was actually a very nice day up to that point. Like I said, she pushed me first and I pushed her back. I tried to stop the situation from getting out of control.”

Madisia told the court that she feared prosecution and therefore decided to bury Wasserfall's body instead of calling an ambulance or the police.

"I was embarrassed. I was afraid no one would believe me.”

Changing her tune

According to her original statement to the police, Madisia said Wasserfall hit her head against a table in her apartment's garage, but apparently later told a different story.

Chief inspector Jacobus Viljoen testified earlier in the trial that Madisia narrated this version of events, and then asked him to leave the room.

"I wanted to speak to my lawyer. I decided I wanted to be completely honest," she said.

Madisia then told Viljoen that Wasserfall fell over the bed in her bedroom. This is also stated in the final version of her statement.

Her legal representative Albert Titus asked why she originally told a different version of events.

"I don't know why I told that untruth. I thought it sounded more believable."

She said Wasserfall apparently bit her little finger on her left hand and that the blood landed on the wall when she tumbled over the bed after the deceased during their argument. In her statement, she originally said Wasserfall bit her left ring finger, but she yesterday explained that this was not the case.

Madisia denied ever intending to assault Wasserfall. She also denied robbing her. "I didn't take anything from her. All these belongings are things she brought to my apartment.”

Madisia attributed the difference between her alleged original statement to Viljoen and the final version to a translation error.

‘It was a reaction’

State prosecutor Henry Muhongo put it to Madisia during cross-examination that it appeared unusual that she followed her alleged attacker into the bedroom rather than leaving the area to seek help.

To this, she said: "At that stage, our argument was not of that nature. It was a reaction, things happened so quickly," she said.

Muhongo is expected to continue cross-examination today.