State opposes bail bid by Panayiotou
State uses recordings to back up argument against accused
THE STATE has hit back strongly at the legal team of Christopher Panayiotou – the man accused of orchestrating the murder of his school teacher wife – after he made a renewed attempt yesterday at being released on bail in the Grahamstown High Court.
Senior State advocate Marius Stander dismissed a list of reasons by Panayiotou’s legal team on why Panayiotou should be released ahead of the murder trial.
Stander detailed the contents of a recording that was made on the day that State witness, Luthando Siyoli, allegedly set a trap to lure Panayiotou into admitting he was involved in the murder of his wife, Jayde, in April.
Stander questioned why, if Panayiotou was indeed aware of Siyoli’s arrest, he would ask him to destroy his phone and SIM card and why he searched Siyoli for a wire. The prosecution also asked what Panayiotou meant on the recording when he said: “I can’t keep handing money over” and “this thing has cost me a lot of money”.
“He is clearly referring to money that was already paid and, not to the R5 000 he gave Siyoli on that night,” Stander said.
“If he was so financially strong, like the defence says, then that is small change. Also, if he went there on the instruction of Eksteen (the police officer) like he claims, then why would he give Siyoli R5 000?”
The State pointed out other parts of the recording where Panayiotou said: “You need to get gone for a few months until things calm down”, “I will sort out your family” and “I told you to do it outside of the house and take the bag and the rings”. In the recording, Panayiotou is further quoted as having said: “Don’t sms me. They are watching the sms’s.”
Stander asked why anyone would want to sort out a killer’s family and what would have cost an innocent man such a lot of money.
Earlier yesterday, advocate Mike Hel- lens, for Panayiotou, argued that it was not fair to lock up a man who was innocent until proven guilty just to satisfy the blood lust of an ill-informed public.
The defence wanted Judge Glenn Goosen to overturn the decision of Port Elizabeth magistrate Abigail Beaton who had refused to grant Panayiotou bail last month.
Hellens said Beaton erred in finding that Panayiotou was a flight risk and argued that she had relied too heavily on the strength of the State’s case and had made a mistake in finding that he was under financial strain.
On the issue of Panayiotou’s Cyprian passport, Hellens said his client had applied for it two years before Jayde’s murder and that the passport was still with the Cypriot embassy. He said that arrangements could be made to collect the passport and hand it over to the police.
“Ever since his arrest, no attempt to flee has ever been made and nor will he ever do so. He is born and bred in Port Elizabeth where he has three thriving businesses.”
Hellens said his client was more than willing to adhere to strict bail conditions and it “will be fine” if Goosen wanted to set bail as high as R200 000.
The judge is expected to give judgment on the matter next Tuesday. – ANA