THE double murder case of Vinenzo Pietropaolo (63) continued in the Johannesburg High Court.
Pietropaolo is accused of murdering his estranged wife, Mannie and firing nine shots at her home in Iris Street, Brackenhurst in 2017.
He is also accused of murdering his father, Pasqualino. He appeared in court on February 22 and 27 and again on March 4.
Three days in court
February 22
A vehicle tracking expert who investigated the matter testified that according to Pietropaolo’s car tracking system, he apparently took less than three minutes to shoot his estranged wife. His vehicle had been travelling near Manuela’s home for more than a half-hour before finally pulling up in front of her home at about 9.18pm.
After the shooting, the car began moving again and speeding off from the house.
Casper Badenhorst, one of the family lawyers representing the deceased, Mannie, also again revealed that Pietropaolo had tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills while the case was still handled by the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.
February 27
The state has closed its case after calling the police officer who arrested Pietropaolo as the last witness. At the time, Pietropaolo told the police he wasn’t aware of a shooting in Brackenhurst that evening.
However, the officer said he saw Pietropaolo sending a WhatsApp to his girlfriend Kumari Maharaj confessing to the murder.
Evidence from a car tracking company also places him at the scene.
March 4:
Pietropaolo was back in court where his lawyers argued that they weren’t given complete records from the State for him to adequately prepare for the Section 174 application, which will ask the court to withdraw some of the charges against him on the basis that the State had failed to prove its case.
The State denied this saying that he (Pietropaolo) knew since December and that he would bring this application and that he has all the records.
Pietropaolo’s application is to challenge the murder charge he is facing for his father’s murder and he is arguing that the State doesn’t have enough evidence.
He is only challenging the charge of the murder of his father and not the charge of the murder of his wife.
The case has been postponed to March 12.
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