Explosive video stuns in Panayiotou murder trial

AN EXPLOSIVE video, in which Christopher Panayiotou candidly discusses his wife’s murder just days after she was kidnapped and executed, has left Jayde’s family and friends stunned.

The chilling words, “it became a kidnapping and a murder instead of just making it a robbery outside the house”, drew gasps from the gallery in the Port Elizabeth High Court yesterday.

The impact of the short black-and-white clip, filmed in an undercover police vehicle, on the case became clear in the lengthy trial-within-a-trial.

On Monday, Judge Dayalin Chetty found the recording to be admissible. He reserved his reasons for his ruling until the finalisation of the case.

“We are just relieved that the footage has finally been viewed. We believe this is in the interest of justice,” Jayde’s younger sister, Toni Inggs, said.

Yesterday, while state advocate Marius Stander led the evidence of an undercover policeman from theelectronics unit, the court viewed the secret meeting between Panayiotou and his former employee, selfconfessed “middleman” Luthando Siyoni.

While Siyoni is seated in the back of the vehicle and cannot be seen clearly, Panayiotou, 30, took centre stage in the front passenger seat of the car.

The two met at the Engen Garage in Algoa Park on April 29 2015, eight days after Jayde’s murder.

The video starts with Panayiotou removing battery and SIM card from a cellphone. He asks Siyoni: “Did these guys blit [talk]?” Siyoni says “Sizwe” (now deceased alleged hitman Sizwezakhe Vumazonke) is on the run.

In the recording, Panayiotou is heard telling Siyoni not to phone him again before handing him about R5 000 in cash. He then tells Siyoni to destroy his cellphone and SIM card.

The trial continues today. — TMG a