North West double-murder accused denies suicide threat

Paul Prinsloo (62) denied he had told police he wanted to kill himself shortly after his wife Magdaleen (58) and stepdaughter Ruzanne Wiedeman (31) were, allegedly by him, in Kosmos, Hartbeespoort, in November.

That is what the Brits Magistrate’s Court heard during Prinsloo’s bail hearing yesterday.

Advocate Zirk Pansegrouw, Prinsloo’s legal representative, told the court that Prinsloo was not suicidal and did not have suicidal tendencies.

The investigating officer, Sergeant Gregory Kwadi, previously testified that Prinsloo told a police officer at the murder scene that he wanted to kill himself. He told the court that Prinsloo would be a flight risk and danger to the public and himself if he was released on bail as he had a history of violence.

“Why did he stick around after the incident and not flee? And if he had wanted to kill himself, he could have done it before the police arrived,” Pansegrouw argued. “The accused denies that he had told the investigating officer he wanted to kill himself.”

Pansegrouw added Prinsloo also disputes the state’s testimony that he had told a witness that he was going to kill three people on the day of the murders.

He said it seemed that it was in the police’s interest to keep Prinsloo in custody as, according to him, a police officer is benefiting from his incarceration. He told the court they had been informed that a Hartbeespoort police detective was living in Prinsloo’s house in Kosmos without paying rent.

“The detective seems to have been put in the house by the estate attorney and is only paying for water and electricity.”

Kwadi told the court that he was not aware of this.

Pansegrouw told the court that his client is currently frail and in bad health and would therefore not be a flight risk. “Can you dispute the prison conditions and my client’s health issues that developed there?” he asked Kwadi. Kwadi responded that he could not comment on correctional services issues.

Photos of spider bites and ‘boils’ on Prinsloo’s body were presented to court.

Pansegrouw said Prinsloo denied police evidence of a previous conviction. Kwadi said according to police records, Prinsloo had a conviction 26 years ago for assisting an illegal immigrant.

“The defence knows nothing about this,” Pansegrouw told the court.

The bail hearing continues on May 16.