Murder accused Rob Packham hauled over the coals by judge
A judge has ruled that murder accused Rob Packham be cut off from technology after he violated his bail conditions by harassing his ex-lover
HE WASN’T supposed to be back in the dock so soon – his murder trial is due to start only in February next year. Yet there he was, tall, grey-haired and bespectacled, facing the music from the judge in the high court in Cape Town.
Rob Packham should still have been confined to the home he once shared with his wife and daughters in upmarket Constantia, Cape Town.
But the court heard the 57-year-old businessman had violated the conditions of his R50 000 bail agreement by allegedly interfering with state witnesses, including family members, former colleagues and, most persistently, his former mistress.
Rob became a household name in South Africa after he was arrested for the alleged murder of his wife, Gill (55), in February this year.
Police believe Gill, an administrator at top girls’ school Springfield Convent, was killed by a blow to the head with a blunt object at the family’s Riesling Road home.
Her partially burnt body was found that evening in the boot of her burnt-out green BMW near the Diep River train station. Her wrists had been tied.
Rob – who has two daughters with Gill, Kerry-Ann (27) and Nicola (25) – has spent the better part of the past six months at home under strict bail conditions.
He has had few visitors but he did have access to technology – and the court found he used it to his full advantage to try to influence people who are due to testify against him.
His ex-lover in particular has been the focus of his attention. Although she repeatedly told him, in person as well as via her lawyer, that she wanted nothing further to do with him, she said in an affidavit that she continues to feel harassed by him.
According to court documents, the woman claims Rob even sent her a long, heartfelt email via a friend detailing his love for her, their passionate sex-life and his hope they could still build a future together.
But on 3 September, when he personally delivered a potted plant to her workplace with a card that read “Love makes all things beautiful”, it was the final straw.
The police were called and Rob was back in court.
“You’ve violated your bail conditions,” Judge Nathan Erasmus told him. “I’m ordering you to be kept in your home with no access to technology – no cellphones or tablets – until your trial has concluded.
“Luckily for you she [the ex-mistress] swiftly informed the police [of the plant and phone calls], before you could make direct contact with her.”
IN HER court statement the ex-lover says Rob has had “a terrible emotional and psychological impact” on her, with a ripple effect through her entire life, that also affected her minor children.
She was Rob’s mistress for more than two years but says she blocked his number after Gill’s death. When he called her from other numbers, she blocked them too.
Then on 4 September she received a four-page email from someone purporting to be Richard Hopkins, a long-time friend of Rob’s.
In her affidavit the ex-mistress says the email she received has details pertaining to her relationship with Rob that [she] truly believes he wouldn’t share with anyone.
State prosecutor Advocate Susan Galloway said “Richard” is none other than Rob himself.
She confirmed to YOU that the emails were traced back to Rob and that there was CCTV footage of Rob delivering the plant to his ex’s office. However, Rob insisted it was “Richard” who made the delivery.
In the email “Richard” writes he’s a businessman who commutes between Hong Kong and Johannesburg and that he’d spent an evening “drinking lots of wine and [whisky]” with Rob because he knew Rob was going through a tough time.
“[Rob] told me all, yes all, about you,” the email – which is part of the court documents – reads. “Now I properly understand where his head was for most of last year and even more so this year.
“He said you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He adores you. He also mentioned life-altering sex – no details, but wow.
“He told me he’d never felt more alive than when he’s with you. Circumstances don’t change this.”
“Richard” goes on to write that Rob isn’t obsessed with her; he’s just passionate and loyal. He says Rob is lonely and doesn’t understand why she’s blocking his efforts to contact her and “rip[ping] his heart out of his chest”.
According to the email Rob wants to build a life with her and feels they have a promising future together – he even wants to help raise her two children.
“You blocked him out and expected him to just walk away. He won’t, he can’t, his heart won’t allow it.
“You knew his divorce papers were drafted. He was committed to end[ing] it and he knew that part [of his life] was done for him. He seemed relieved,” writes “Richard”.
“Just remember he’s the same guy he was before this mess. Gill’s tragic death doesn’t suddenly make him another person or alter that.”
He then offers to give her a burner phone (that allows users to create temporary disposable phone numbers) so she and Rob can chat.
“He’s fragile and emotional. He’s dying to see you. To chat.
“He’d die for you. He won’t stop until you [understand].”
IN MAY this year Rob’s lawyer, Ben Mathewson, told the court his client suffered from an addiction and police sources subsequently told news site Netwerk24 he’s a sex addict with a proclivity for BDSM. In a WhatsApp message to her friends Gill had described her husband’s alleged addiction as “betrayal” and she also expressed her heartbreak over his infidelity.
But in a statement he made shortly after Gill’s death, Rob sings a completely different tune to the one in “Richard’s” emails.
He states he’d told Gill of his affair and that they’d been seeing a marriage counsellor from November 2017 until her death in February 2018.
He alleges they had been trying to save their marriage and they’d been planning to renew their wedding vows in April this year.
“I had, on my own recognisance, chosen to end the affair,” Rob says in the statement.
“And, after seeking help from a counsellor, chosen to disclose the full truth to my wife.
“My wife was understandably devastated by the news and the knowledge of my infidelity hurt her terribly. She was very angry with me.”
Rob now claims he deeply regrets the affair and that he’d never wanted to end his marriage.
In an email Rob sent to a former colleague at Twizza, the South African cooldrink company he helped run, he writes the past few months had been the worst of his life.
“Gill’s tragic death as well as the subsequent criminal charges and media storm have been devastating to me.
“It’s all so ugly and unfair. The entire matter is based on circumstantial allegations and untruths,” he writes. “I’ve never been so scared in my life, emotionally and physically, especially in the way I was treated by the police and in prison. “I will endure. I have to.” Rob Packham’s murder trial is expected to start in February 2019 in the high court in Cape Town.
Pieter Botha, the advocate who represented convicted axe murderer Henri van Breda, was due to represent him but has withdrawn due to Rob’s financial difficulties. At the time of going to print no replacement counsel had been announced.
When contacted for comment his attorney, Ben Mathewson, said his office had a policy not to comment on trials in order to protect their clients’ rights as well as to respect their privacy. “I hope you understand and respect our relationship with our client and legal duties towards him.”
‘He said you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him’