Wife killer refused leave to appeal conviction
JUDGE Dayalin Chetty yesterday dashed the hopes of convicted wife killer Christopher Panayiotou to have his murder conviction overturned by another court.
Judge Chetty dismissed Panayiotou’s application for leave to appeal his murder conviction.
Judge Chetty said the judgment documented the full extent of the plan devised to have Jayde Panayiotou murdered.
He said the attack on the judgment ignored crucial findings and made Luthando Siyoni and Babalwa Breakfast out to be victims. “As I emphasised in the judgment, the only victim is Jayde.”
He said the grounds on which the application was brought were without merit, adding that he believed that an application to appeal would not have any reasonable prospect of success.
Judge Chetty also dismissed leave to appeal Sinethemba Nenembe’s conviction and Zolani Sibeko’s conviction and sentence.
Uitenhage school teacher Jayde Panayiotou was abducted outside her home in April 2015 and driven to the outskirts of KwaNobuhle where she was shot execution style.
Her husband masterminded the killing and was found guilty of paying Siyoni, a bouncer from his Infinity nightclub, to hire a hitman to kill Jayde.
Sinethemba Nenembe assisted the hitman to kidnap and murder the teacher.
Panayiotou was handed a life sentence for his wife’s murder. – African News Agency (ANA)