‘Friend’ accused in grisly killing over girl
Jealousy said to have been motive
A DURBAN man is dead after being stabbed and run over, apparently by a jealous acquaintance whose exgirlfriend he chatted to.
The acquaintance and two other men are alleged to have stabbed Kurtlee Pillay, 20, more than 20 times before dragging him under his own car for about 500m.
A source close to the investigation said the acquaintance of Pillay’s “incorrectly assumed” that Pillay had started a relationship with his former girlfriend, the mother of his child.
“Pillay and the female were in contact with one another, but they were not in a romantic relationship,” the source said.
The source said Pillay and the woman had been friends before the acquaintance began his relationship with her.
“[They] were friends while the accused was in a relationship with the female and remained friends when the accused’s relationship ended.”
The acquaintance, who lives in the same complex in Overport as Pillay’s family, allegedly enlisted the help of the other two suspects.
They lured Pillay by telling him they had car trouble and pounced on him when he arrived, pushing him into the back seat of his own car.
They then stabbed and assaulted him, the source said.
Pillay was allegedly pushed out of the car. The three assailants drove off in his vehicle, but later returned.
By then Pillay had moved from the bushes to the side of the road and tried to flag down the approaching car to help him, not realising the assailants were in it.
The source said the three men ran him over but Pillay was caught under the car and dragged down the road.
Pillay, a third-year student at the Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design in Durban, was an only child.
On Friday, Pillay’s mother, Tracy, and grandmoth- er, Sweety, sobbed in the Durban Magistrate’s Court before the three men made their first appearance.
They cannot be named or photographed pending an identity parade, which will take place next week.
They have been charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and murder.
The three men were arrested after they dumped Pillay’s blood-stained car.
“Metro police were alerted to the site where a suspicious car was reported,” the source said.
A security guard told police that the people who left the car were around the corner. When they saw the police, the three started running.
Community members took to social media to voice their horror at Pillay’s death. Facebook user Cynthia Johnston said: “Kurtlee was a jolly and respectful young man. My heart goes out to his family.”
Pillay’s grandmother said the family were relying on prayer to help them cope.
“It is difficult for us, we feel like we are in limbo. We have released these young people [the accused] into the hands of God, because nobody in their right frame of mind would want to do what they did.”
The case was postponed to next week and the accused remain in custody.