The case against Bennie Els (37) and Ethan Minne (22), accused of allegedly assaulting Barend Johannes Metz (58) at HotSpot Pub & Grill in Northmead in August last year, was again postponed in the Benoni Regional Court.
The men briefly appeared on July 23, during which the state and their respective legal representatives requested a postponement, stating that medical reports relating to the victim’s injuries and subsequent death on September 5 were still outstanding.
The pair is out on bail and face charges of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, common assault and murder.
CCTV footage, which was widely shared on social media, shows Metz alone at the bar in the pub on August 31, at 21:40.
His alleged attackers enter and sit next to him.
One of the men is seen taking the victim’s phone and passing it to the other man.
Metz then gets up, and a verbal altercation ensues and thereafter Metz is physically assaulted by both men.
The altercation lasted about five seconds before bystanders and management intervened.
Metz’s sister, Crystal Hebrard, said her brother was taken to Tambo Memorial Hospital on the afternoon of September 1, by a female friend for treatment.
“He was discharged shortly after and went to the friend’s home in Witfield to recover,” she said.
Hebrard claims the autopsy report, found that he suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen, which resulted in internal bleeding and death.
The matter will resume on August 23.
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