Loerie Park panga murder: Husband pleads not guilty in George court

Nearly three years after Soneé Witbooi (28) was brutally killed in her Loerie Park home, her husband, Rodney Witbooi (34), appeared in the George Circuit High Court this week, pleading not guilty to her murder and nine other charges.

George Herald reports that on Monday, Witbooi pleaded not guilty to 10 of the 12 charges against him, including murder, attempted murder, common assault, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and housebreaking, as well as a previous case of attempted rape.

He had been arrested for an unrelated 2020 incident in which he allegedly attacked and attempted to rape a woman outside a nightclub in Pacaltsdorp. Witbooi pleaded guilty only to two drug-related charges.

Witbooi, who has been in custody since his arrest on the scene on December 21, 2022, allegedly killed the Soneé at their home in Boekenhout Street, Loerie Park, using a panga.

Officer describes horrific scene

In his testimony, Constable Bradley Geduld, the first police officer on the scene on the morning of the murder, described a gruesome discovery.

He said he found Soneé inside her home with her face and the immediate area covered in blood.

Her breathing was then laboured, but when the paramedics arrived, they declared her dead.

In the days leading up to the murder there had been clear signs of domestic violence. On December 19, 2022, Geduld and another officer had been on night shift when they were called to an assault complaint in Boekenhout Street. The complainant was Soneé Witbooi.

Geduld testified that when they arrived, she was sitting outside on the pavement. Witbooi was also present. She went inside the house with the officers and told them Witbooi had threatened her, and that she wanted him to stay with family in Pacaltsdorp.

She did not wish to lay charges at that stage, but said she would apply for a protection order the next day.

According to Geduld, she had no visible injuries and her sister, Chandré le Roux, was with her.

The court heard that Witbooi had initially appeared calm, but after being asked to leave, became disorderly to the point where the officers were forced to arrest him. “He started shouting and put up a big scene. We had no choice but to arrest him,” Geduld testified.

Witbooi was taken to the George Police Station where he was held in custody.

During an inspection the following day, the officers found tik and Mandrax hidden in his socks.

Later that evening, Geduld and a colleague were again called out to the Witbooi home where Soneé reported she suspected someone was on the property. A search of the house and surrounding area was conducted, but no one was found.

Between 02:00 and 03:00 on December 21, another complaint was received from the same address, this time of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

When Geduld arrived, some Bergsig Neighbourhood Watch members were already there. He found Chandré and her partner on the pavement. She had a towel pressed to her neck, where Witbooi had allegedly attacked her with a panga.

She asked Geduld to check on her sister inside the house. There he found Soneé sitting up against a wall, her face covered in blood.

Victim recounts 2020 attack

The victim in the 2020 attempted rape case testified on Monday, visibly shaken as she recalled the events of that night outside a nightclub in Pacaltsdorp.

She told the court she had stepped outside to lock some jackets away in her car when Witbooi approached her and asked for a lighter. After some brief conversation, he allegedly grabbed her from behind and began choking her, making suggestions that he was going to rape her.

“I thought he was going to rape and kill me,” she said.

She managed to hit him with a beer bottle, which broke during the struggle. Using the broken piece, she stabbed him in the face before he fled.

She was later treated in hospital for injuries to her head, hands and knees.

According to her, Witbooi had a panga hidden in his denim dungaree, but was unable to use it during the attack. She said she had never met him before that night.

The trial continues

The trial continues this week in front of Judge André le Grange. Adv Evadné Kortje appears for the state, while senior advocate Johan Visser represents Witbooi. Further witness testimonies are expected to be heard over the coming days.

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