THIS week, nearly a year after the fateful Saturday Brett Williams, a former Royal Marine was beaten to death after a Super Rugby rugby match at Kings Park Stadium, the trial for four men charged with his murder started in the Durban Regional Court.
Magistrate Trevor Levitt and court officials, together with the media did an in loco inspection of the site to ensure that all were familiar with the location of the incident and rough measurements between the different locations as well as where witnesses were in relation to the scene of the crime.
The legal teams walked across the outside grounds towards the Sharks Supporters’ Cub and Jonsson College Rovers Club and to various points outside the stadium.
The group noted the Rovers Club where a verbal argument between Cramer, who has since turned state witness, and his girlfriend occurred in the vicinity of the club. The group spent much time around the Sharks Supporters’ Club and the tractor shed and pump house where the body of Williams was found, facing east.
Williams’ fiancée Louise Scott flew in at the weekend to represent Brett at his murder trial which started on Monday.
The British national was visibly upset as she came face to face with the four men accused of killing the father of her child almost a year ago.
Scott told Berea Mail she couldn’t describe her feelings after seeing all the accused outside the courtroom with their families before the trial began.
Sitting in the back row of the public gallery with head bowed for much of the proceedings, Scott said it was a “very emotional” time.
The State’s first witness, Grant Cramer, took the witness stand giving the court his account of events leading to Williams’ death.
Cramer was initially charged with one count of assault and intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but charges were dropped last year due to insufficient evidence against him.
On Monday in court, he described his relationship with the accused brothers Kyle and Blayne Shepard, Andries van der Merwe and Dustin van Wyk all of whom he considered “close friends.”
The four each face one count of murder, three counts of assault and intent to cause grievous bodily harm and crimen injuria. They pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The court heard how Cramer and Williams got into an altercation where Cramer had Williams in a neck choke which caused him to pass out and he had to be revived by paramedics.
“The deceased saw us [Cramer and his girlfriend Kirsten Cooper] arguing and asked us what was going on in an aggressive manner. I told him to “Piss off!” I didn’t know him and carried on walking towards Kirsten.
Cramer recalled turning away when Williams swore at his girlfriend. “I asked what his f***** problem was and he stepped forward in my face and punched me, on the side of nose. He took another wild swing, missed and spun and fell over.”
According to Cramer he grabbed Williams by the chest and “powered him down to the ground.” “I got on top of him, he was lying on his back, I grabbed his chest and said, “If you don’t calm down I’m going to f*** you up.” It was at this point that Williams stopped resisting and stood up. “He attacked me again, swung at me. I ducked then I grabbed him in a neck lock, he was taller than me and trying to break free from my grip.” Williams allegedly tried to elbow Cramer to break free, but Cramer kept his grip for a little while till Williams stopped resisting and his girlfriend shouted for him to let go. Brett fell down backwards slumped on Cramer and then fell down on his back.
Cramer allegedly turned his attention towards finding his missing chain with help from accused, Dustin van Wyk, who together with Kyle Shepard enquired about him being in a fight. He recalled seeing Kyle Shepard head in the direction of the tractor shed, where Williams was being treated by paramedics.
Cramer heard Williams call Kyle Shepard a “f***** faggot” and throw a punch at Kyle then noticed Blayne Shepard run towards the tractor shed saying, “You want to hit my brother.” Cramer recalled the fight breaking out at that point although he said he was still busy looking for his chain. He tried to get Kyle unsuccessfully away from the scuffle and was ushered away by his girlfriend.
Cramer told the court he heard Williams had suffered brain damage after being stopped by security guards that night. He indicated he was aware that Williams had died by the time he received a call in the morning from Blayne Shepard who asked if he could come to the Shepard’s home to get their stories straight. “I told him no, I wasn’t involved and something to the effect of, You tell your story and I’ll tell mine. He said I was involved, and I got very upset and put the phone down.”
On Tuesday, day two of the court proceedings, Cramer told the court he had received Facebook threats from a person whose account had shortly afterward been deleted.
Defence attorney for brothers Blayne and Kyle Shepard, Christo van Schalkwyk said his clients had received similar threats. The magistrate acknowledged that the case was “very serious” and people were reacting.
Christo van Schalkwyk was the first defence attorney to cross-examine Cramer, who spoke quietly and seemed subdued on the second day. He was suprised to hear that Cramer had a “booklet of statements and pictures” relating to the case, although Cramer claimed he could not remember whose statements were in the booklet, only the two photos of the deceased.
It also emerged, according to a statement put forward by a witness, Kim de Villiers, that Williams did not want to engage with Cramer and “put up his hand” but a verbal spat continued until Williams threw a punch. Cramer denied that he was aggressive towards Williams.
The trial continues this week.
