Following their third appearance in the Benoni District Court as part of a bail application, mother and son Patricia (53) and Jarren (30) Banks were granted bail yesterday.

The pair stand accused of the murder of businessman John Hamilton George Banks (62) on July 19 last year.

Before delivering her ruling, magistrate Smita Naidoo called the investigating officer in the case, Warrant Officer Charles Nienaber of the Benoni Police Station, to the stand to clarify statements contained in his affidavit.

The officer’s investigative findings were read out in court on February 1 and formed part of the state’s opposition to bail.

Contained therein were the following excerpts from the investigating officer’s timeline:

• July 19 – Patricia Banks claims the last time she saw her husband of 18 years was at 20:30 before going to bed.
• July 21 – Patricia contacted Netstar Vehicle Tracking and Recovery in an attempt to locate Banks’ missing vehicle, a Land Rover. It was later found in Birchleigh. The tracking report supplied for investigative purposes indicated the vehicle was in motion from 23:30 to 23:58 on July 19. Between 00:10 and 00:22 on July 20, the vehicle was in Elandsfontein, in the vicinity where Banks’ body was discovered. At 01:20, the vehicle was brought to a stop in Kempton Park, where the burnt-out wreckage was found.
• July 25 – Despite Banks’ body being burnt beyond recognition, Jarren positively identified it at the Germiston Mortuary.
• August 14 – The investigating officer received the case dockets from the Bedfordview and Norkem Park SAPS. Also gathered was footage from a community-monitored CCTV system.
• September – A forensic investigation of the entertainment area at the Banks’ home found evidence of blood. Samples were collected, and the results are still outstanding to determine whether the samples match those of Banks. The cellphone records of Patricia’s Sim and two Sim cards belonging to Jarren were handed to the police.
• October 13 – Patricia and Jarren were again questioned, with both claiming they were asleep at home and no phone calls were made. Both were still in possession of their phones.
• January 17 – Patricia and Jarren were arrested on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and perjury.

Further to the above, the police laid out phone call records gathered thus far.

Speculation

Questioning Nienaber, defence advocate JP Commey argued that evidence indicating that Patricia and Jarren were in telephonic contact on the night of Banks’ disappearance is not proof that they were complicit in the victim’s murder.

“A mother and son phoning one another cannot simply be interpreted as people conspiring to commit murder,” he said.

He stated the accused’s co-operation throughout the investigation speaks of members of the community acting in the interest of justice.

Opting to not cross-examine Nienaber, prosecutor Thokozile Mabena said, based on the evidence presented to the court, the state believes it has a strong and compelling case against the duo.

Delivering her ruling, Naidoo reiterated that Patricia and Jarren both face an opposed schedule six bail application, without presenting exceptional circumstances which would warrant their release.

She, however, added the state did not present strong prima facie evidence, due to outstanding findings.

“Based on this I find that the evidence presented is based on speculation and suspicion,” said Naidoo.

Bail granted, trial date set

Patricia and Jarren were both granted R5 000 bail each but will have to adhere to stringent conditions.

“The accused must report, in person, to the Benoni Police Station every Saturday between 06:00 and 18:00 and all travel documents must be handed to the investigating officer,” she said.

“Neither of the accused may leave the borders of Gauteng without written permission granted by Nienaber, for the duration of the trial. Failure to do so will necessitate your bail being revoked.”

The trial is scheduled to start on March 20 in the Benoni Regional Court.