Double murder accused Rameez Patel back in court for wife’s murder

Double murder accused Rameez Patel is expected back in the Polokwane High Court on Tuesday, for the murder of his wife.

The trial which has been postponed several times over the past six years was supposed to have resumed on Monday.

However, both the State and defence representatives were summoned to the judge president’s chambers on their arrival.

Previous court appearance

During his previous court appearance in April, Patel told the court that he was in possession of a video clip in which his brother Razeen confessed that he had lied in his testimony against him.

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Patel also battled to explain to the High Court why he didn’t submit all the clothing he wore on the day of his wife’s killing, claiming that officers simply didn’t ask him to.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Patel told the court that he did not give his jacket to the police because they did not ask for it.

Fatima’s murder

Patel is on trial for the murder of his wife Fatima that took place in April 2015.

Fatima’s body was found in a pool of blood at their Nirvana home in Limpopo in 2015, after they allegedly had a fight.

Police investigations revealed that Fatima was executed with a single shot to the head while autopsy reports indicate that, at some point before her death she was strangled and suffered blunt force trauma that dislocated her jaw, possibly caused by a baseball bat that was recovered from the ceiling of the apartment.

Other Crimes

While Patel was also accused of killing his mother, Muhajeen, police said that he’d not been linked to a spate of other crimes involving his family.

Patel’s father Firoz, was killed in an unsolved robbery while Yunus Mayet, the father of his current wife was kidnapped and murdered.

In 2018, his brother Razeen was shot at days before he was due to testify against Patel.

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