TWO years after Odette Barkhuizen (43) was shot dead in Oakdene, her husband, George Barkhuizen, the prime suspect in the murder case, appeared in court again on October 10.
According to News24’s Amanda Khoza, Johannes Hattingh, a retired forgery expert, testified in South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday, telling the court he’d compared a sample of Odette’s signature to that on a copy of her will and found it was ‘forged’. It was further reported that George had allegedly taken out life insurance of R7.5m on Odette, weeks before she was shot.
Must Read:Â Handwriting expert testifies to forgery on will
Odette was shot twice on June 11, 2015 and died at the scene in what was first thought to be an attempted hijacking. Her vehicle was stolen but found a few hours later, not far from where she was murdered. The vehicle was captured on CCTV footage, being driven away from the scene, but the camera didn’t clearly pick up if there was just a driver or passengers, as well.
On June 16, 2015, a memorial service was held for Odette and a friend of Odette’s told the Comaro CHRONICLE reporter she was suspicious about the murder but couldn’t reveal more information until there was proof.
Private detectives and SAPS members investigated her murder for weeks and sources close to the case revealed a suspect in the case.
Odette’s estranged husband had been struggling to come to terms with her death and was alleged to have hired his own private investigator to investigate her murder.
On September 8, 2015, George Barkhuizen was arrested in connection with her murder and in a court hearing on September 16, his bail application was denied. He appeared in court again on October 29 and the case was postponed to November 23, 2015.
The case continues on October 16.
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