Prints match in Hector murder case
THE defence team in the trial of the people accused of killing Kuils River mom Zara Hector will conduct their own DNA testing before cross-examining the State’s DNA expert.
Hector went missing on March 14, 2016, with her boyfriend’s BMW Z3. Her body was found on a farm in Groot Drakenstein on March 24 – 10 days later.
Yesterday, Renaldo van Rooyen and Tawfeeq Ebrahim were back in court following a long postponement.
Van Rooyen appeared to have lost weight and was dressed in a worn-out black-andwhite sweater. His co-accused seemed to be in good shape, dressed in a denim shirt with his hair neatly gelled.
Ebrahim’s family was present in court, but none of Van Rooyen’s family was there.
The State called two witnesses – a DNA expert and a fingerprint expert.
Warrant Officer Blanche Amy Stubbs filed an affidavit which confirmed that Hector’s tissue matched that of her brother, Brendon Hector.
Stubbs said although swabs were taken from Hector’s parents, they could not be profiled.
Fingerprint expert Frederick Stephan Schoeman said he was responsible for the victim identification match. Schoeman said he had compared thumb prints he received from the SAPS with that of the BI (notification of death) from the Department of Home Affairs.
“Those prints matched and corresponded with that of Zara Hector,” he said.
Schoeman said 12 points in the fingerprints indicated that it was a match. “Normally seven points are required to make a positive identification. No two persons have the same print. That is why I have no doubt that the prints I received from police matched with those from Home Affairs,” he said.
Schoeman conceded in cross-examination that three of the 12 ridges provided doubts, but maintained that it was still more than the seven needed for a positive match.
Defence advocate Peter Burgers said they needed time to get the DNA testing and results done by their own expert.
He asked to cross-examine Stubbs once he had those results.
Judge Lister Nuku postponed the matter until March 12.