NELSPRUIT – Closing arguments were heard in the trial of two men accused of attacking a couple on their farm Vygeboom near Badplaas in December 2010 and murdering the husband. The trial was concluded in the Circuit Court of the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
Mr Thomas Nyathi and Mr Aaron Nkosi have been charged with the murder of Mr Johannes Hendrik Schoeman (86), as well as kidnapping and armed robbery.
The alleged crimes took place on December 17, 2010.
Defence attorney for Nyathi, Mr Lawrence Manzini, claimed that the DNA blood evidence found at the scene linking his client to it, was the only thing the state had on the accused, as Schoeman’s widow, Ms Gudren Schoeman (67), had first stated she could not identify her attackers and then changed her statement.
He said Schoeman just wanted someone to pay for what had happened to her and her husband.
He also tried to argue that the DNA sample had been tampered with, but the state argued that there was no proof of interference.
Defence attorney for Nkosi, Mr Velile Dhlomo, said his client had only the testimony of Schoeman and the pointing-out to police that linked him to the crime.
He said what Manzini had stated was exactly the same for his client, plus, in the pointing-out, his client had not written the statement himself.
Ms Schoeman had testified in court during the trial that, before the attack, she went to bed on the second floor of their home at about 21:00, while her husband slept on the first floor.
She was later awoken by the smell of something burning. She got up, looked around the house and heard her husband snoring when she passed his room.
She then went to the kitchen and when she returned to check on her husband, two men attacked her in his room.
She said one of them covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream.
According to Schoeman, her husband was unconscious at the time, but still alive.
“They started demanding cash and weapons. I denied I had any money or weapons, which was true. They hit me continuously with their fists and one of them held a rusty knife to my neck.”
She claimed the suspects had pulled her pants down, but didn’t rape her.
They then demanded her ATM card and cash limit to withdraw money. She said that was when Nyathi took her husband’s jacket and both men used it to strangled him.
They then loaded her into the back of her husband’s vehicle and drove off.
“Nyathi drove like a maniac and when we reached the T-junction at Machadodorp, I jumped from the vehicle, hurting my ankle in the process.”
She said two trucks drove past her while she stood in the middle of the road. The men returned for her and threw her down a three-metre embankment.
They dragged her back to the N4 and the car. They then drove to Belfast and when they got to an ATM, they asked for her PIN.
In court she stated she was not sure if they got the money, but eventually they returned to the car and sped towards Carolina. “Suddenly I heard the front wheel hit gravel and the vehicle overturned.
” When she got out of the vehicle, two police officers were present on the scene, who then took her to hospital.
The trial was postponed to Tuesday (September 10) for verdict.
