Schoolgirl’s horrific killing: man in court
LAWYERS for murder accused Johannes van Wyk, 24, are preparing to start his formal bail application as he stands accused of murdering Anika Smit in 2010.
Van Wyk made a brief appearance in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning, where his case was postponed.
“It is standard procedure to postpone for a formal bail application. We need to prepare an affidavit in support of his bail application in terms of Section 60 of the Criminal Procedure Act,” said Van Wyk’s instructing attorney, Latham Dixon.
Dixon said the State also needed to prepare its case. As he walked into the courtroom from the holding cells, Van Wyk greeted family members in the public gallery. He handed himself over to police on September 16, saying he had information about Anika’s murder.
Anika was 17 at the time and in Grade 11 at Gerrit Maritz High School. She did not attend school on the day she was killed, due to an ear infection.
She was found by her father with her throat slit. She had been sexually assaulted, her body riddled with stab wounds and her hands were cut off. They were never found.