13:20
UPDATE: According to police spokesman Lt Col Erhard Stroh, bail of R2 000 each was granted to the accused. Shaun Oosthuizen (38), Maryna Mandy Vorster (48) and John du Plooy (26) appeared again today in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court for the bail hearing. Stroh added that Vorster was kept in custody due to the warrant of arrest for her in Bela Bela, Limpopo.
The matter was postponed until October 26 for further investigation.
MBOMBELA – Shaun Oosthuizen (38), Maryna Mandy Vorster (48) and John du Plooy (26) appeared in the Nelspruit District Court for their bail applications. The three are charged with murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Attorney Mlungisi Makwakwa represented Vorster and Du Plooy, and attorney Mduduzi Nkosi appeared on behalf of Oosthuizen.
The family of the deceased and the family of the accused were in court to witness the proceedings.
Investigating officer, Lt Col Erhard Stroh, testified in court that they were requesting that the court deny bail because the three were a flight risk.
He said Oosthuizen had seven previous convictions for theft. For the most recent he had served time in prison and was released in 2013.
Vorster had four previous convictions. One was for the assault of a police officer. She also had an outstanding warrant for arrest regarding a theft of a cellphone at an old age home in Bela Bela, Limpopo.
Du Plooy had no previous convictions.
READ MORE HERE: Multiple murders being investigated with similar modus as Hetta Potgieter’s
On the first day of the bail hearing, the three admitted that they were at her home at Macadamia Care Centre on the day of Potgieter’s death. However, they denied killing her.
They also claimed that police had assaulted them when they were arrested
Stroh said they had CCTV footage of Oosthuizen and Vorster walking through the gate at Macadamia Care Centre and later exiting. Oosthuizen was seen exiting the premises with a cloth in his hands.
“The registration of their vehicle was a MP registration number, which we tested and discovered was false. We then got footage at another scene with the same vehicle, but with GP registration.”
Stroh added that witnesses at Herfsakker Old Age Home, where the three had gone before they went to Macadamia, had stated that the accused had also asked for a glass of water there.
He said one of the tenants of Macadamia had been left a message by Vorster. On the note it was written that she was looking for “Auntie Hettie” to tell her her mother had passed away. There was a telephone number on it. “We discovered the number was non-existent.”
Stroh described what he saw at the crime scene on the day of the murder.
“The TV was still on, the place had been ransacked. We found her body in the bathroom, both hands were tied behind her back, there was a cloth inside her mouth and another cloth tied around her mouth.”
The safe was open and R10 000 was stolen out of it. “The safe key was missing.The family of the deceased had indicated that she normally kept it in her handbag or in her cupboard.”
Using the GP registration number, the three were tracked to Krugersdorp. They were then arrested at Lovers Rock Caravan Park.
Later Oosthuizen pointed out the crime scene to police.
During cross-examination, Nkosi stated that Oosthuizen had no conviction in the previous five years and had been assaulted and forced by police to point out the crime scene. Stroh denied the allegations of assault.
Makwakwa argued that Vorster had also been assaulted and that the police had no evidence to tie Du Plooy to anything.
The bail hearing continues today.