Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Ceres accused hospitalised
Trial interrupted as suspect suffers exhaustion in the dock
THE NEED for urgent medical intervention interrupted the murder trial of a 29-year-old from Ceres accused of killing a gay man in an apparent hate crime, after he had chest pains and suffered extreme exhaustion in the middle of his testimony yesterday.
His condition was so bad that Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai asked that he be taken to a doctor at the Warmbokkeveld Prison in Ceres.
Christo Oncke, however, insisted that he wanted to finish giving evidence.
But Judge Desai
and assessors Attie Heyns and Altus Joubert, could see that the accused was not in a position to continue. State advocate Ntsaoki Mabilietse agreed.
It has been a tough week for Oncke as he listened to State witnesses accuse him of bludgeoning 23-year-old Dawid Olyne to death, strangling him, and setting him alight.
The High Court trial is being heard in the Ceres Magistrate’s Court, not far from the small suburb of Bella Vista, where the killing occurred.
Olyne’s charred body was found lying in the field outside a pump house, close to a dam the residents used to swim in.
This week the court heard from forensic pathologist Sonata Walraven that Olyne had 23 bruises on his body, but that not all were directly inflicted during the assault.
However, she pointed out that blood in Olyne’s airways indicated that he was still alive when he was set alight.
“It is a terrible manner in which to die,” she said, adding that he was assaulted throughout, even while he was dying.
She said it was one of the most horrific murders she had seen. The most extensive bruise, which measured 24cm long and 12cm wide, was on his face, and stretched to his neck.
She testified that the bruise must have been inflicted by repeated punching or kicking.
It would have made him unsteady on his feet so that he would have been unable to put up a fight.
Walraven explained it was likely that the injury to his face and head area was one of the first to be inflicted.
The manner in which he was bound – from his feet, behind his back and around his neck – made it difficult for him to move because, if he struggled, he would have choked himself, the court heard.
Part of his pants were pulled down. They and his underwear had melted, and the burn wounds were serious.
Four young men from Bella Vista, including a minor, implicated Oncke. Some claimed they saw the alleged assault and the court also heard that Oncke told them he was going to set the deceased alight.
They said he appeared wild and that the veins in his neck were accentuated.
They could not explain why they did nothing to help Olyne, or alert the police, and why they simply carried on drinking.
In addition, the court heard that Oncke told his peers that he had committed a “ligte moordjie” (minor murder).
However, Oncke denied killing Olyne or that he confessed to killing him.
The 29- year- old told the court that he only completed Grade 1 before he moved to Athlone and attended Mary Harding, a school for children with intellectual disability. He is unable to read or write.
Oncke underwent a mental evaluation and was found fit to stand trial.
In court this week he strug- gled to express himself, becoming frustrated at times. He told the court that he punched Olyne a few times after the deceased pulled down his pants, but that he was still alive when he left the scene.
According to him, three teenagers who had been drinking at the dam beat Olyne.
Oncke claimed he heard them threaten to “kick him in his glory”.
The State closed its case after presenting the evidence of seven witnesses.
Oncke was supposed to be cross-examined yesterday but was unable to continue.
The case continues on Monday. The defence intends to call two more witnesses.