Alleged wife-killer Albertyn denied bail
A JOHANNESBURG magistrate considered a substantial amount of evidence pointing towards a man responsible for his wife’s murder and denied him bail on that and several other factors.
Yesterday, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court ruled that Fadiel Albertyn, accused of killing his wife Nicolette whose body is still missing, should remain behind bars until next month when a trial date will be decided.
Nicolette has been missing since February last year and her husband has insisted that he had nothing to do with her disappearance or death.
But magistrate Pieter Du Plessis was not convinced and said he failed to adequately prove that he should be released on bail. “There is a substantial amount of evidence that points to you.”
Reading from a police affidavit submitted to the court, the magistrate told Albertyn that according to the court document, DNA had linked him to the murder as police said the blood found at the couple’s house belonged to both of them.
According to police information, he was seen using his ex- girlfriend’s car and loading something into it, believed to be his wife’s body. Albertyn apparently told his former partner he needed the vehicle to see his daughter who was in a car accident with her grandfather. But the grandfather has said no incident occurred.
Du Plessis added that sniffer dogs reacted to blood in the car and police had information from the couple’s neighbours who said they heard them argue on the day Nicolette went missing.
Other factors such as Albertyn being a potential flight risk as he doesn’t have any fixed assets in the country and is currently unemployed, also contributed to him not being released on bail. Du Plessis said Albertyn lives in a community in which he knows witnesses in the case and would interfere in the matter. This was despite the defence arguing that he has an alternative address if he were to be released on bail.
In a previous court appearance, Albertyn said his wife’s blood was in their home because she had had a nosebleed.