Killer boyfriend nailed
Private prosecution proves daughter was murdered
APROMINENT Pietermaritzburg couple, whose daughter was found shot dead nine years ago at her flat in Cape Town, made legal history last week.
They became the first in South Africa to secure a murder conviction, via private prosecution, which cost hundreds of thousands of rand to put together.
Yunus Asmall and his wife Sara, of the Asmall’s chain of clothing stores, are now one chapter away from ensuring that Faizel Hendricks, the boyfriend of their deceased daughter, Rochelle Naidoo, 27, is put behind bars for lying when he said he had nothing to do with her murder.
Hendricks claimed he was in Naidoo’s flat when he saw her grab his unlicensed .38 Special Revolver, and shoot herself inside her mouth. He will be sentenced in the Malmesbury Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town on September 30.
Last week, Magistrate Michelle Adams convicted him of murdering Naidoo at her flat at Palm Mews in Woodstock on June 28, 2005.
“The accused declined to testify. That is his right. It has also left numerous unanswered questions. The only conclusion reached is that Hendricks assaulted his girlfriend before he pulled the trigger. The accused is found guilty as charged beyond a reasonable doubt,’’ said magistrate Adams.
Naidoo, formerly of Pietermaritzburg, ran the boutique, Jeans Junction, in Cape Town.
Her family encountered numerous obstacles over the years to obtain justice.
They persevered with the private prosecution even though the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in Cape Town told them the State could not prosecute the accused because the evidence was apparently not strong enough to secure a conviction.
An inquest was also held. The inquest magistrate said the cause of death was not clear.
Naidoo’s parents paid a substantial amount of money for the private prosecution to proceed.
They paid a deposit to secure the use of the court and the equipment, instructed Durban senior counsel, Gideon Scheltema, to prosecute the case, and sought the opinion of Durban ballistics expert, Jacobus Steyl, and forensic expert, Reggie Perumal, to prove that something sinister happened to their daughter.
According to Steyl’s investigations, before the deceased was shot inside her mouth, Hendricks assaulted her by using blunt force to her mouth.
“I visited the crime scene on August 23, 2005. The wound inside the mouth is consis-
tent with a loose contact entrance wound with blackening surrounding the wound. This indicates that the muzzle was in close proximity to the entrance wound.
“The barrel of the revolver was inside her mouth. The bullet did not exit the skull and was retrieved during the post-mortem.
“The lacerations on the forehead and above the right top lip corner is consistent with an injury sustained with a sharp object.
“The bruising on the inner bottom lip is consistent with blunt force trauma, which could have happened shortly before the fatal shot was fired.”
Steyl testified that the blood spatter on the kitchen wall came out after the accused had beaten the deceased on her mouth before he shot her.
The post-mortem finding that the bruises on her mouth were caused by blunt force cemented the theory that Hendricks and Naidoo fought and that he assaulted her, said Steyl.
He also testified that it was highly improbable that Naidoo took her own life.
“I was contacted by the deceased’s family about 10 days after the tragedy to assist with the investigations. They were under the belief that Naidoo did not commit suicide and that something sinister occured.
“I viewed the CCTV footage and was taken aback by what I saw. On the night before she was murdered, Naidoo arrived at her flat but did not go inside. She slept in her Ford Fiesta. Naidoo did not jump out of her car the next morning. Instead she drove away and returned in the evening. The footage showed that she went into her flat on June 28, 2005. Hendricks, who also stayed in the flat, was also there that evening.
“They were the only two people in the flat until the accused’s brothers arrived following the tragedy. The police arrived after his family got there. When the police were there, Hendricks had his hands on his head. Naidoo, in my view, was murdered.
“She did not commit suicide as claimed by her boyfriend. Hendricks owned the unlicenced .38 Special Revolver. His claim that he saw the deceased walking down the steps in her flat with a gun in her hand is far fetched. He made no mention at any stage that the deceased was assaulted in her mouth. That was disclosed in the post-mortem report,’’ said Steyl.
This week in an interview with POST, Steyl said advocate Scheltema deserved the accolades.
“Scheltema punched holes in the suicide theory and in the evidence advanced by the accused’s ballistics and forensic experts. I knew after I conducted investigations that there was no way that Naidoo had committed suicide.
“The deceased’s parents are respected for their business acumen and philantropic deeds. They did not allow the red tape and bureaucratic regulations to hamper their quest for justice.
“The Asmalls were convinced that their daughter was murdered. The scientific evidence cemented that view and the court also confirmed that Rochelle was murdered,’’ said Steyl.
Naidoo’s father said he and his family were relieved that Hendricks had been convicted.
“We finally got some closure. It has taken nine years and on September 30 this painful chapter in our lives will be closed when sentence is passed.
“We owed it to our dear daughter to get the true answers. Rochelle loved life and we believed that she did not take her own life. She will remain in our thoughts for ever,’’ said Asmall.