of the rifle to eject the fired cartridge case from the action. To load the next cartridge, the bolt was then pushed forward, again cocking the firing pin. On pulling the trigger, the second shot was discharged.[1] It was no accident that a second shot was fired; even if done quickly, it required deliberation and the ordered manipulation of the rifle's action.
20 It was suggested to Dr du Plessis in cross-examination that Charlise was shot first to the left hip and then to the face; she agreed that the suggested scenario was possible.[2] Indeed, the evidence allows the Court to draw the inference that the offender presented the gun to Charlise and shot her in the back, probably as she turned to run away from him and the weapon, thus exposing her back and left hip to him. That injury, fracturing her pelvis as it did and causing haemorrhaging, would almost certainly have knocked Charlise down or caused her to fall to the ground. The offender then moved towards Charlise and, at close range, discharged the rifle into her face. These were deliberate acts. This second shot in particular was, in effect and intent, an execution shot. The use by the offender of a lethal firearm, and the manner and sequence in which he discharged each shot into Charlise, leaves no other reasonable conclusion than that he undertook these actions intending to kill her.
21 Why the offender would have acted in such an unspeakably vicious and murderous way towards a 9-year-old girl to whom he stood in the position of a parent or carer is unlikely ever to be known. The Crown argues that the discovery of quetiapine in Charlise's body, which was likely ingested within hours of her death, can be attributed to the offender, and must be connected to her murder. Even were that to be so, however, it does not establish a motive.
22 Samples of spleen fluid obtained during the post-mortem examination of Charlise's body that were sent for toxicological analysis detected the presence of quetiapine at 29 milligrams per litre, meaning that Charlise had ingested this substance prior to her death. Quetiapine is commonly prescribed as Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication.[3] The offender was prescribed and regularly used Seroquel and had the drug in his possession at the Mount Wilson property at
