Court holds in loco inspection in Hartswater triple murder case
AN IN LOCO inspection was conducted this week at the home of the Brand family on their farm in Hartswater as well as at the cave where one of the bodies of the three murdered family members was concealed.
A visit was also made to the homes of witnesses and the accused and the place where a stolen laptop and cellphone were sold.
Danie Brand, his wife Breggie and their daughter Elzabé were assaulted, abducted and killed and their bodies dumped in Takaneng village near Taung in July 2020.
A red Nissan Micra and silver Mazda CX-5 were stolen during the farm attack.
The accused - Donald Seolesang, 22, Tshepo Visagie, 38, Kgomotso Mpumlwane, 45, and Tshepaone Melato, 21 - were charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
Charges against Realeboga Manyedi were withdrawn after he agreed to become a State witness.
The legal representative for Seolesang, Roelof van Wyk, informed the Northern Cape High Court this week that his client denied any involvement in disposing of the bodies.
“He (Seolesang) said the body was covered in a blue duvet and he never knew that there was a body inside the duvet,” Van Wyk told the court.
Manyedi, however, pointed out that it was “impossible” not to know that there was a body wrapped in the duvet, as the deceased’s head was sticking out.
He added that he assisted in moving the bodies and that there was blood visible on the head of the deceased.
“Visagie never told me that he murdered anyone.”
Manyedi stated that his clothes also became stained with blood while he was carrying the bodies.
“Visagie picked up the man and took him to the Mazda before we drove to another part of the veld. He carried him to a tree. He picked up the woman and put her in the boot. The person was wrapped in a blanket. He moved her from one point to another. The woman was still alive when he took her into the car.”
He indicated that the accused drove the red Nissan Micra to the quarry in Majaneng, although it needed to be towed at one point.
“There was no rope to pull it. I could not make out if the person at the back of the Nissan Micra was a male or a female. I only discovered that it was a woman who was wrapped in a blanket when we arrived at the cave.”
The legal representative for Visagie, Chande Booysen, believed that Manyedi was continually altering his testimony.
“He is fabricating his version every time he is confronted with evidence that is not favourable to him,” said Booysen.
She pointed out that Manyedi would not have been able to show the police where the bodies were located without Visagie’s assistance.