Grisly Alban murder: Novella trial resumes

A police officer who interviewed Guatemalan murder accused Diego Novella on the day of his arrest told the Western Cape High Court yesterday that in 30 years of service he had never seen a crime scene like the one in Room 14 of a Camps Bay boutique hotel where Gabriela Kabrins Alban was found dead.

Novella has pleaded not guilty to the 2015 murder of his 39-yearold American marketing executive girlfriend and instead will argue diminished responsibility due to drug intoxication.

He was arrested on July 29, 2015, after Alban’s body was discovered in the hotel room they were sharing at the luxurious Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotel.

The trial resumed yesterday after a two-week adjournment because defence lawyer William Booth had had a medical emergency.

Warrant Officer Stephen Fourie, the head of detectives at the Camps Bay police station, told the court that he interviewed Novella on July 29, as well as the following day – both times he informed him of his rights.

Defence lawyer William Booth said another officer had also interviewed him and again read him his rights. “Maybe it was that the accused’s demeanour was strange, and he was acting strangely and that is why he was read his rights several times.”

It was widely reported in the local media that cocaine had been found in the room, but Booth told the court that, in fact, none had been found.

Booth described the crime scene and the body “how she was covered” as “bizarre”.

Fourie agreed and said the crime scene was unlike anything he had ever seen before: “It is not the norm to find a body like that.”

Alban’s face was covered in chips and faeces and there was a curling iron beside her. – ANA