Blood that of missing German

Expert tells court stains in camper van were matched to J-Bay businessman

ONE of the foremost forensic experts in the country said yesterday that blood had been found in a camper van belonging to missing Jeffreys Bay businessman Claus Schroeder.

Captain Marius Joubert, of the Western Cape SA Police Service’s forensics laboratory, told the Port Elizabeth High Court that Blue Star reagent sprayed inside the pink Volkswagen camper van after Schroeder’s disappearance on August 13 2009 reacted positively

We first did a visible inspection before spraying the chemical

to blood. The positive reaction was seen on the damaged floorboards and the cracks in the metal railings at the back of the van.

The blood was then positively matched, through DNA, to married father of two Schroeder.

Although his body was never found, Schroeder, 50, has since been declared dead by an inquest court, with fellow German nationals Jens Leunberg and Kristina Adler charged with his murder.

It is alleged that the then common-law husband and wife had tried to defraud Schroeder out of millions of rands through the sale of his Thornhill farm, Owvanhuk, and when Schroeder found out about it, they killed him.

Leunberg, 37, and Adler, 39, pleaded not guilty to charges which include fraud and murder.

Joubert also testified for the state in the high-profile cases of convicted Paralympian Oscar Pistorius and triple murder accused Henri van Breda.

Joubert had told the Cape Town High Court at the time that the blood spatter and bloodstains found at the Van Bredas’ De Zalze Estate home did not support the version now told by the 22-year-old.

Yesterday, responding to questions by state advocate Marius Stander, he said Schroeder’s van had been processed on September 7 2009. He had worked closely with local crime scene expert Warrant Officer Phillip Bekker.

Schroeder’s wife, Tanja, listened intently and took notes as Joubert testified.

After Bekker took photographs, Joubert drew up a sketch of the van.

“We first did a visible inspection for blood before spraying the chemical Blue Star.”

He said it reacted positively in three areas inside the van. Swabs were then lifted for DNA testing.

Experts later managed to link the DNA to Schroeder.

It is still not clear exactly how Schroeder was killed.

Leunberg remains behind bars, while Adler is out on bail.

Investigating officer Captain Daniel Siebert will return to the stand today.

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