The accused ex-husband of the murdered Candice Fritz, 37, will appear in the Johannesburg High Court on 9 June.
This was the ruling of the Randfontein Magistrates’ Court this morning, 26 May. Eight days earlier it was ruled that the case will be transferred to the High Court, although the court details were not given. The accused is suspected of having committed a Schedule 6 offence, which was debated in court earlier. Bail for the accused was denied on 15 March.
According to Grant Fritz, Candice’s brother, the accused will use the services of his own private advocate. At this stage it is not clear whether Advocate Amanda Nel will continue representing him. Nel informed the Magistrate that she had received the dossier from the State Prosecutor, and needed time to study it before deciding whether to represent the accused in the High Court.
During the night of 13 to 14 November 2016 the mother of two young children was found brutally murdered in her car. Randfontein Police arrested her ex-husband on the morning of 14 November and he was charged with her murder.
During the suspect’s first court appearance, Magistrate Elbie Botha confirmed that the charge against the suspect was one of murder and that Fritz had been stabbed repeatedly before succumbing to her injuries.
Also read: Dead woman in car identified
During a subsequent court appearance the suspect heard that the charge had been changed to rape and murder.
It came to light that the police had searched the suspect’s house and found blood on the wall in the passage. They also found towels with blood on them, bloody clothes and a broken window. A pair of men’s underpants was also found in a dustbin. It was also disclosed that a Samurai sword had been found, allegedly with blood on it. It also came to light that when Fritz was found in her red Polo, her pants were pulled half-way down.
Also read: Ex-husband accused of murdering wife back in court
The police also found a leaf and a substance – allegedly semen – on her genitals. There were bite marks on her right breast, and various stab wounds, all more or less three centimetres in length, as well as bruises and scratches on her body. The bruises on her back suggested that she had been dragged some distance.
The results of the DNA test and the origin of the white substance were not yet available.
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