It was another tense day in court, following the arrest of a brother and sister who have also been charged with the murders of three Krugersdorp residents in May.
The bail application proceedings commenced late as the court waited for the suspects to arrive.
Magistrate Delize Smith opened the proceedings in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court by standing by her order that no photographs or recordings were to be made by the media.
Defence attorney, Advocate Da Silva, who represents three of the four accused, quickly went into action and requested that the media should not be present at all for the bail application.
The discussion became rather heated as sections of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 were quoted back and forth across the courtroom.
Advocate Swanepoel, representing the 32-year-old accused (accused number two), announced that his client would not be applying for bail.
Da Silva continued to argue that details in the statements of his clients might send the public on a witch-hunt, as the addresses of the suspects would become available. However, Magistrate Smith reminded Da Silva that the court is a public place where justice should be served transparently.
Accused number one, Johannes Christiaan Kruger, aged 29, accused number three, Leroux Steyn, aged 20 and accused number four, Marcel Steyn, aged 18, each had an opportunity to submit their statements as to why bail should be granted; however Marcel claimed that she had already received threats from community members, warning the suspects that they should not be released on bail.
All three elected not to discuss the crimes they are alleged to have committed and only verified their personal details in their statements, which also indicated that they were going to plead not guilty to the charges.
Kruger stated that he was tortured and forced to give a statement which implicated accused number two. He said he was slapped in the face and manhandled by police during their interrogation. In his statement, Kruger said that accused number two had instructed him to tie the hands of a victim. He further alleged that police had threatened to put a plastic bag over his head to suffocate him.
Leroux Steyn also claimed that he was assaulted by police and forced to make a statement while wearing a gas mask. Marcel supported both these accusations of ill-treatment. According to her statement, her hands and feet were tied to a chair while the police allegedly threatened to suffocate and rape her.
But it was the State’s statement that really shocked the court, as it revealed new information about the triple murders, as follows:
• Anthony Scholefield was found in the boot of his vehicle in Premier Street, covered in a plastic bag, on 10 May. A total of R9 600 was withdrawn from his bank account and his cards were used the following day at a local butchery, clothing shop and cafe. Personal belongings such as a wallet, laptop and cellphone were stolen.
• Kevin McAlpine was found in the boot of his vehicle in Sivewright Street on 26 May. A total of R1 300 was withdrawn from his account and his wallet, notepad, shoes and wedding ring were stolen.
• Hanle Lategan was seen meeting with a woman at the private hospital in Krugersdorp on 30 May at 6.01pm. By 6.30pm R3 000 had been withdrawn from her account. Her handbag, iPad and wedding ring were stolen during the incident. Her body was discovered the next morning by school pupils in Randfontein.
It also came to light that Kruger had been linked to certain cellphone records, while the Steyn siblings were positively identified on CCTV footage taken at an ATM.
According to the State, Leroux Steyn confessed to threatening the victims with a knife before strangling them with a rope, while Marcel Steyn had to verify the PIN codes of the victims’ bank cards.
The State also mentioned that the siblings’ mother’s vehicle had been searched for DNA linking them to the murder of Lategan.
Although Marcel Steyn allegedly refused to give police the password to her cellphone, the State mentioned that she was in possession of a photo of Lategan’s body.
After taking Magistrate Smith through the details of the accused’s statements, the State asked for bail to be opposed and also submitted a supporting affidavit from Krugersdorp Community Policing Forum chairperson, Gert Jonker.
Da Silva pushed for bail for his three clients, but Magistrate Smith announced that she would make her decision known on 13 July.
One of Marcel Steyn’s school-friends, who was present at the hearing, told the News how shocked she was when she learned that her friend was facing charges connected to the triple murder.
The four accused have been remanded in custody until 13 July.
Read more about the triple murders:
Siblings arrested in connection with #TripleMurders
Triple murder case moved to Roodepoort
‘Please leave us to mourn in peace’ – Andre Lategan
Trial by Facebook? Suspects found guilty on social media
One arrested for triple murder
