SECUNDA – A man suspected of murdering a Serbian immigrant in Secunda seven years ago, appeared in the Secunda Magistrate’s Court for the first time on Tuesday, 2 October and again on 8 October.
Detectives of the Secunda Police Station arrested Mr Nebojsa Jestic (58) in the Cape and brought him back to Secunda last week in connection with the murder of Mr Mile Veljkovic (63) on 2 November 2011.
Mr Jestic, a fellow Serbian who also went by the name of Nenad in 2011, was a lodger in the Veljkovic household in Geelhout Street at the time.
It is alleged that on that morning of the murder, Mr Veljkovic’s son, Claudio (then 16) went to school to write exams.
The suspect asked Claudio about the time he would be finished at the school.
Claudio told the police at the time that his father and Nenad had been discussing Nenad’s departure.
“That morning of the murder, my dad told me to bid Nenad farewell because he was leaving,” Mr Claudio Veljkovic told the newspaper in an exclusive interview on Monday, 8 October.
“My dad asked me to get a lift home from school, because he wanted to stay at home and keep an eye on things while Nenad was packing.”
According to Mr Claudio Veljkovic, the gate was locked when his friend dropped him off.
“I found it odd, but climbed over the fence.
“The house was also locked and the bakkie was missing.
“By this time my friend came over to study, but we could not get into the house and my father did not answer his phone.”
The boys initially found a partly open kitchen window, and when Claudio peeked through it, he saw his father’s body in the kitchen.
He ran around to the main bedroom where he broke a window to get in.
“I saw the safe was open and the contents were missing.
“I found my father in the kitchen.
“A plastic bag was pulled over his head and tied around his neck with rope,” Mr Claudio Veljkovic recalled.
Mr Claudio Veljkovic said that day changed his entire life.
“That day I became an adult and had to take charge of my dad’s business.
“I even paid the renowned investigator, Piet Byleveldt R40 000 to find Nenad, to no avail.”
Mr Jestic could not be traced until a sudden breakthrough in November last year when he was involved in a serious vehicle accident in Wellington in the Western Cape.
He was admitted to hospital and was in a coma for several weeks.
During this time, the police from Wellington initially charged Mr Jestic with negligent driving, but then discovered that he had been using counterfeit number plates on his bakkie.
When they checked the chassis number of the vehicle, it turned out to be Mr Mile Veljkovic’s stolen bakkie.
“I received news of this in January and went to the Cape in April to identify the bakkie and some stolen items that were still in the vehicle,” explained Mr Claudio Veljkovic.
He must still identify Mr Jestic as Nenad who lived in the Veljkovic house seven years ago.
“I wish I could ask him a few questions.
“Mostly just why he did what he did.”
Mr Jestic also has no passport or proof that he is legally in South Africa.
He has no documentation to state his real identity.
The police need to compare his fingerprints to DNA with the national database.
He remains in custody and will again appear in court on Monday, 15 October.
