According to Fochville police’s communication officer, Sgt Tunase Majola, Maryna Doyle (37), Sidney Scheepers (41), Cecilia Storbeck (23), Twane Wienand (31), Rudolf Pretorius (23) and David Lourens (45) appeared in the Fochville Magistrate’s Court in connection with the case again on Friday, 30 September.
Doyle and Pretorius have been charged with murder, being an accessory after the fact and obstructing justice, while Scheepers, Storbeck, Wienand and Lourens have been charged with being an accessory after the fact and obstructing justice.
None of the accused has been asked to plead yet, and the case was transferred to the Fochville Regional Court, where they will appear on Monday, 18 October.
Wheeler Barnard, who was only 33 years old, died after she was allegedly severely assaulted at the Boulevard Tavern in Fochville on 4 March this year.
The case has gained widespread national media attention and the attention of pressure groups be-cause many people are unhappy that all the accused are still out on bail.
According to the legal website caf.co.za, an accessory after the fact is “a person who intentionally assists the perpetrator after the completion of the crime”. It is not an accomplice because such a person does not further the commission of the actual crime in question.
“An accessory after the fact is someone who, after the completion of the crime, unlawfully and inten-tionally associates themselves with the commission of the crime by helping the perpetrator or accomplice evade justice”.