Local insurance broker guilty of murdering wife
The North Gauteng High Court found a Benoni insurance broker guilty of murdering his wife.
Martin Badenhorst appeared before judge Lettie Malopa on June 12.
Benoni police spokesperson Lieut Nomsa Sekele said that Badenhorst claimed to have accidentally shot his wife, Yolandi, while they argued in their bedroom in November 2007.
But the police investigators and the court disputed this, saying that if it was an accident and Badenhorst wanted to help, he could have sought medical assistance following the shooting.
“Badenhorst never phoned the ambulance after the shooting, which occurred during the night,” said Sekele.
The police were alerted to the incident only the next day, and had to break into the house to gain access, as there was no one inside.
Sekele said the police then found Yolandi’s body lying in a pool of blood, with two bullet wounds, in the stomach and the arm.
Badenhorst handed himself over to the police and surrendered his firearms the night after the shooting.
His trial was postponed to August 28, for pre-sentencing reports, and his bail has been extended.
