Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Murder accused claims he wrestled ‘demonic entity’ on night girlfriend was killed
MURDER accused Diego Novella, 41, said he wrestled with a “demonic entity” on the night his girlfriend was killed.
Novella, a Guatemalan national, stands accused of murdering US marketing executive Gabriela Kabrins Alban, 39, at a Camps Bay hotel on July 29, 2015.
Alban’s parents Doris Weitz and Howdy Kabrins, accompanied by their spouses Linda Kabrins and Alexander Williams, were there to hear Novella present his version of events to the Western Cape High Court this week.
Dressed in faded blue jeans, a light blue shirt and black leather jacket, Novella looked grim as he told the court about his battle with a “demonic entity” in room 14 of the luxury Camps Bay hotel.
He said he was attacked by the entity and bitten on his chest and arms.
He insisted that he merely “defended” himself against the entity which he described as “grey” in appearance.
The court heard how Novella and the “entity” fought in the room of the hotel.
Novella said he was able to grab the “entity” by the arms and wrestled it to the ground and hit it until it no longer moved.
The parents and their spouses broke down when the court heard chilling testimony of how Novella defecated on the body of the “entity”.
Evidence previously led in court indicated faeces, chips and a “white powdery substance” were found on the body of Alban.
Novella appeared to take strain while he was being questioned by his advocate, William Booth, through an interpreter, and said “It’s not easy to answer these questions.”
He was not able to explain why he defecated on the body of the “entity” or why he placed a hair-dryer, chips and a T-shirt on the body of the “entity”.
Novella testified that after the fight he went to the beach because he knew something “unpleasant” had happened in the room.
Novella was at pains to emphasise that the “demonic entity” was male and this was illustrated by a note that he had left on the body of the “entity”.
The accused testified he had scribbled the Spanish word “cerota” on a piece of paper and placed it on the body of the “entity”.
The translator informed the court that cerota refers to a male and directly translates into “piece of s**t”.
Novella claimed he heard voices in the ceiling of the hotel room and that he had the feeling “angels” were hiding behind the curtains.
He told the court that after the battle with the “entity”, his mind was “hijacked” and he did not remember much of what happened after the fight and when he returned to the room.
The matter was postponed on Thursday after Novella said he felt “emotionally drained” and could not continue his testimony.
Gabriella, 39, was the only child of Howdy Kabrins and Doris Weitz.
She met the accused while she was at the Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Novella comes from a wealthy family in Guatemala.
According to Linda Kabrins, his family has a“monopoly” in the cement business in Central America.
The bereaved US relatives of Alban have been flying between Cape Town and California since the trial began. “We have spent millions travelling between Cape Town and California,” said Kabrins.