Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Novella distresses victim’s parents
Murder suspect speaks to family in court
THE father of murdered Gabriela Kabrins Alban was deeply distressed when his daughter’s alleged murderer addressed the family in court this week.
“You will never know what it feels like,” an enraged Howdy Kabrins screamed as he slammed his hand on the court bench.
It was a dramatic day in the Cape High Court, on Monday, when murder accused Diego Novella addressed the family during his testimony.
Novella stands accused of murdering his girlfriend, US marketing executive, Kabrins Alban, in a Camps Bay hotel room on July 29, 2015.
Kabrins Alban’s parents and their spouses said they were “stunned” when Novella addressed them directly. The 40-year-old Guatemalan testified about Kabrins Alban’s love for her parents and their spouses.
“My breath was taken away when he spoke to me. He was looking at me and referred to me as Mr Kabrins. He tried to sound as human as possible. I was very uncomfortable. I didn’t know it was coming,” said Kabrins.
Kabrins Alban’s mother, Doris Weitz, said she felt Novella’s address was “self-serving”.
“I did look at him. My heart was pounding. It was really uncomfortable. It just happened. I wish I had asked to leave. He never apologised,” she said.
Weitz said she had met the accused on three occasions while he dated her daughter.
“It wasn’t an easy exchange. He spoke about extraterrestrials that were coming.”
Stepmother Linda Kabrins denied Novella’s claims in court that they had spoken on the phone. “You never spoke to me,” interrupted Kabrins while Novella was speaking.
Novella also mentioned Kabrins Alban’s stepfather,
‘He tried to
uncomfortable’
retired US Judge Alexander Williams III, during his testimony the following day. “He expects us to accept his story, which is absurd. He is a crazy, angry, arrogant man,” said Williams.
Last week, Novella testified that he’d wrestled with a “demonic entity” on the night his girlfriend was killed in their hotel room.
Much of Novella’s testimony this week focused on the deceased’s battle with Lyme disease and the medication she was “abusing”.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, that is transmitted to humans through a bite from an infected black-legged or deer tick.
Novella told the court Kabrins Alban was on hydrocortisone which was used to treat redness, swelling, itching and discomfort of various skin conditions. He also blamed this drug for what he called Kabrins Alban’s “mood swings”.
Novella testified that Kabrins Alban was “abusing pharmaceutical drugs that were not prescribed” and that he felt at times he was living with “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.
Novella had been living in Cape Town for three months while he was waiting on Kabrins Alban to join him from Guatemala.
He admitted in his testimony that their relationship was strained. Even after the deceased joined him in Cape Town, he “wasn’t sure where they stood”.The pair left for a trip to Italy during their South African trip and returned to Cape Town. “I have never hit a woman before and I did not hit Gabriella,” said Novella.
He also disagreed with the way notes were transcribed from interviews with him while he was at Valkenberg Hospital.
The trial resumes on Tuesday.