Anxiety for Geneveve’s family
Accused applies for charges against him to be dismissed
be one of us you must sacrifice your BODY to one of us and Soul to THEM.”
Mothupi seemed to be h u mo u r i n g him, and his claims that he c ould hel p her become a Playboy SA model. Eventua l l y, she responded she would be willing to meet in person, but only after the crowning of Miss Soweto at the end of November 2013.
In December, Mohapi continued to try and build up his fictionalised underworld links, claiming that he had to work two jobs to cover up his indiscretions. “If they know, they will kill everyone I love.”
The conversation petered out shortly after.
Over the next two weeks, Mothupi was still active on Twitter, talking about her vacation, modelling shoots and posting seemingly happy selfies.
But four days after her final tweets on January 1, 2014, she was found dead in her bathtub at her Florida home.
When the investigation star t ed, Warrant Of f i cer Patrick Mpadisang initially thought it could have been a sui- cide. There were few signs of a struggle, and no signs of a forced break-in. How - ever, when M o h ap i ’s childhood friend, Adele Cloete, found t hat t he model’s phone had been wiped and a laptop was missing, she eventually gained access to the Facebook conversations that started the i nvestig at i on into Mohapi. While the 23-year-old suspect had initially claimed he had never been inside Mothupi’s home, a fingerprint linking him to the crime scene made him confess he had actually slept with her. But he insisted he was in Hillbrow the night investigators believed that Mothupi was murdered. The State eventually used cellphone records to argue Mohapi’s phone had pinged off of a cell tower 180m from her home on the night of the alle ged murder, and even with the possible 5km leeway between cellphone towers, he could not have been in Hillbrow as he claimed.
A blue discolouration on Mothupi’s eye socket also formed a key part of the State’s case: an expert testified she could have experienced a blunt force trauma to the head.
State prosecutor Shubnum Singh has relied on its circumstantial evidence to try Mohapi on rape, robbery and murder charges.
Defence advocate Harmen van Beek argued there was little to no evidence linking his client to any of the crimes – or even that there were any crimes.
This week’s application was, according to Van Beek, based on the argument that the State had failed to make a case beyond reasonable doubt against Mohapi, and the only way to prove a case against him would be if he were to testify and incriminate himself.
Van Beek said the blue discolouration on Mothupi’s skull was never proven to be inflicted by his client, nor even from a physical assault.
With no injuries to Mothupi’s genitals, there was also no real proof of rape either, he said.
The stolen items, a laptop and two rings, had never been recovered, and there was minimal evidence they had ever existed. Other valuables were not taken.
The defence blamed drugs and excessive alcohol Mothupi “could” have consumed and indicated there was a possibility she could have been depressed and committed suicide.
Van Beek blamed the State for failing to provide a timeline of events, arguing the only reason his client had been arrested was because of a series of online conversations and his initial lies to the investigating officer.
He also told Cloete in a Facebook chat after the murder that he had never met Mothupi.
His client had been lying in the chats as a “form of bravado” to “solicit” sex from Mothupi, but it should not be taken as possible evidence of murderous intent.
The other lies, said Van Beek, were to protect his girlfriend and small child from knowing he had had an affair. “He lied about his relationship with the deceased, that does not make him a rapist, robber and murderer.”
In rebuttal, Singh argued the conversations were a sign Mohapi was willing to lie and do anything to gain time alone with Mothupi.
It also showed his aggressive and manipulative side, and the lies to Cloete and Mpadisang were signs of his guilt.
She was unwilling to accept the suicide theory, as friends had testified to Mothupi’s happiness, budding career and general optimism, and there was no indication of any previous mental illness.
It was also odd that someone who cared for her pets would lock up her dogs in a room with no food or water if she were planning to commit suicide, said Singh.
It was more likely she had put them away because she had a guest at the home. This would also explain the lack of forced entry to the property.
Judge Betty Mahalelo, in her ruling on the application, said she believed there was little evidence to link Mohapi to the allegedly stolen items and found him not guilty.
However, she believed that on the rape and murder charges, there was still a case to which Mohapi must answer.
After the short ruling on Tuesday, it was expected that Mohapi’s legal team would begin their own case, possibly calling Mohapi to testify. However, in a move that shocked Singh, the defence immediately closed its case after the ruling on the application.
This sur prised Judge Mahalelo, who asked Mohapi twice if understood the ramifications of not testifying. After confir ming he did, the case was postponed to September for closing arguments.