The case against the Alberton murder-accused couple, Werner Jack Schoeman (accused one) and Delichia Bekker (accused two), returned to the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court on June 23.

The pair is accused of involvement in the murder of Susan Gillian Murray, who lived in Verwoerdpark, Alberton, at the time of her death and was found dumped in Alberton North in November 2023.

Schoeman and Bekker face charges including murder, fraud, and theft. Bekker, Murray’s daughter, is accused of involvement in her mother’s death and was arrested days before Schoeman, who was caught hiding in South Hills.

State’s cross-examination field day:

Over a two-day period, Bekker (accused two) had a difficult time on the stand during cross-examination. State prosecutor Advocate Carien Mulder had a field day tearing into the deceased’s daughter’s inconsistent testimony.

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Delichia Bekker (accused two) had a difficult time on the stand during the two-day cross examination, with the prosecutor constantly pointing out inconsistencies in her testimony. Full story on albertonrecord.co.za

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This was on the back of Advocate Mulder’s lambasting of Bekker the previous day (June 22), where the prosecutor slammed Bekker for continuously giving contradictory testimony and for constantly changing her testimony to suit her narrative.

The prosecutor continued, asking Bekker about her previous testimony about cell phone evidence. “Ms Bekker, you’ll remember that you told us yesterday and on other days that you did not have a cell phone over this period when your mother disappeared. Now, I put it to you that you instructed your attorney to put to Ian Bekker, your brother, that there was in fact a phone that you had.”

In response, Bekker (accused two) said: “I did not have access to a working cellphone. I had a phone that was broken.”

The prosecutor hit back, saying: “I put it to you that this is different from what you told us, that you never had access to any phone. This is different from what you told us, because you never said you had a broken phone. Now, you’re only changing now that I’m putting the version that was put to the witness, to you.”

Bekker struggled to explain away inconsistencies in her testimony.

The presiding magistrate, Isabella Mlaba, postponed the matter to July 6 and 7 for further evidence, during which the State is expected to continue cross-examination. Both accused remain in custody.

WATCH: Alberton murder-accused couple: Prosecutor lambasted accused over contradictions in her testimony