VINCENZO Pietropaolo will spend his second Christmas in prison after the Johannesburg High Court postponed his trial to February 4 pending the finalisation of the investigation.
He is charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Manuela, also known as Mannie.
He appeared in court on November 22. Dressed in black, the state witness Jason Cullins said on the night of the murder, he had been visiting a friend. “My friend’s house is only three houses from Manuela Pietropaolo’s home. First, I heard shots, and then the silence, and then another four to five shots. We went out in the streets to see what happened, and only saw a blackish Toyota 86 parked in the street near Mannie’s house. I did get the registration number and I did give my statement to the SAPS. After a while, the car drove casually past, as if nothing had happened,” Cullins said.
Pietropaolo’s middle son, Craig, also testified against his father. He described his parent’s relationship as a not pleasant. “They would insult each other verbally, but never physically,” he said.
Craig also said his mother did not want his father near her, and her house.
Pietropaolo is accused of murdering his estranged wife, Mannie, firing nine shots at her home in Iris Street, Brackenhurst, last year. He is also accused of murdering his father. The couple had been separated for three years before her death.
Supporters for Mannie wore black T-shirts with the inscription ‘Justice for Mannie’ written on them during the court hearing.
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