Hector murder trial testimony revolves around BMW
A CONVERSATION about the sale of a BMW Z3 during a drive from Bishop Lavis to Bonteheuwel was the focus of testimony in the Zarah Hector murder trial yesterday.
The Western Cape High Court heard one of the accused, Taufeeq Ebrahim, 26, had allegedly called his cousin Naeem Rhodes, on March 15 last year, asking for a lift from Bishop Lavis.
Rhodes had been called to testify as a State witness.
Ebrahim from Malibu Village with Renaldo van Rooyen, 33, from Kuils River have been charged with Hector’s murder, defeating the ends of justice and robbery of a vehicle.
Hector went missing on March 14 with her boyfriend’s BMW Z3.
Her body was found in a shallow grave on a farm in Groot Drakenstein, 10 days after she had been reported missing.
Hector was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer because she owed the accused drug money.
Rhodes testified that when he asked Ebrahim what he was doing in Bishop Lavis, “he said he had a car to sell”.
“Me and my wife met him outside Bishop Lavis police station with another guy that I did not know. He then asked me if we could also pick up Renaldo down the road,” he said.
Rhodes testified that they then drove to Bonteheuwel to drop off his wife.
“While we were in the car, the unknown guy was bragging about how fast he could strip cars. In the car Taufeeq asked Renaldo for the keys, I saw the emblem and it was a BMW logo,” Rhodes testified.
Further in his testimony, Rhodes said that when he asked who the car belonged to, Ebrahim had said that it belonged to family members of Van Rooyen who were overseas at the time.
“They said the person looking after the house had given them the keys,” he testified.
Rhodes said the following day after seeing a Facebook post about Zarah Hector and her car being missing, he called his cousin to ask if it was the same car.
“He said he did not know the girl,” said Rhodes.
Sergeant Donavan van Rooyen from the Paarl criminal record centre testified that Hector’s body was found wrapped in two plastic bags, a black one on the outside and a blue one underneath, with two electrical cords around it.
“Her body was found on a farm road near the Drakenstein area. When we got there we could not see if the body was human or animal. We had to cut the cords to get to the body, it was wrapped tightly.”
Van Rooyen testified that Hector’s body was also fully clothed with “many maggots visible on the body”.
“A beer bottle was also found on the scene and I collected a swab for possible saliva and dusted for fingerprints,” he tesified.