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Kirsten Kluyts murder: Defence lawyer says state’s case is ‘fanciful’
The man accused of killing Kirsten Kluyts will spend Christmas behind bars.
Advocate Itumeleng Masako speaks to the media about his client outside the Alexandra Magistrates Court, 5 December 2023. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
The defence lawyer representing the alleged murderer of Kirsten Kluyts has asserted that the state’s case is “farfetched”.
The Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday heard closing arguments from the state and defence regarding the accused’s bail application.
Victim was pregnant
Kluyts, a teacher at Delta Park High School, was attacked while participating in a MyRun event in Sandton on 29 October 2023.
The 34-year-old’s body was found at George Lea Park in Parkmore following her disappearance.
Her running shoes, sunglasses, blue T-shirt, pants, and pink cap were taken.
WATCH: ‘I didn’t want to be involved’- Accused explains why he took Kirsten Kluyts’ clothes
The victim was 14 weeks pregnant at the time of her murder. A preliminary post-mortem report revealed that there were no visible signs of injury to Kluyts’ genital organs.
Her alleged killer was arrested at his student residence on 26 November after the police obtained video footage from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of Parkmore.
The 21-year-old college student has bee charged with rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances and premeditated murder.
‘Imagination and speculation’
State prosecutor Ayanda Bakana on Wednesday presented two affidavits before closing arguments from investigating officer Aubrey Tshisani and Grant Moulder, who works for a security company, on the third day of the bail hearing.
Tshisani’s affidavit revealed that Kluyts could have been killed within eight minutes of her arrival for the race.
The investigating officer, in the written statement, maintained the accused would be a threat to the public if he was released on bail.
Advocate Itumeleng Masako, however, argued the evidence heard in court corroborated his client’s version that he did not commit a planned or premeditated murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and rape.
“I wish to remind this honourable court that during cross-examination, I never heard a word from my learned colleague that at any stage [the accused] had an intention to kill this person on this day and for what good reason do you kill this person.
“No cross-examination said ‘you knew her three months or a year before’. What the state relies on is the statement of the investigating officer. If it’s not farfetched, it’s remote and if it’s not remote, it’s fanciful and I’m saying that with the greatest respect,” the defence lawyer said on Wednesday.
Masako said the state had limited its case by only relying on photo stills of video footage that was not shown in court.
He highlighted that information from Kluyts’ phone could have helped with the investigation into her murder.
“They funneled. They said ‘ah we have got video footage and we will apply our imagination and speculation to arrive at a conclusion’. The law doesn’t work that way,” the advocate continued.
Watch the proceedings below:
Lower schedule
Masako also told the court that if the accused could not be granted bail because he was mentally unstable, then the defence wouldn’t even have filed the application for his release nor let him testify in court.
“We would have applied… for him to be taken to a mental hospital to be checked. We respectfully submit that he is normal, he is sane and his coherent, logical, convincing and unassailable version speaks for itself.”
The advocate said the evidence instead pointed to a charge of theft or defeating the administration of justice as his client admitted to taking Kluyts’ clothing items, which cost around R250.
READ MORE: Kirsten Kluyts’ alleged murderer denies killing teacher but admits to wearing her shirt
He asked Magistrate Syta Prinsloo that the accused’s bail should be considered in terms of a lower schedule.
“The evidence does not even show the applicant committed any of the charges and as such the application for bail should be considered as an application not even falling within the ambit of schedule five of the [Criminal Procedure Act].”
The judgment on the bail application will be handed down next week Friday, 29 December, and therefore, the accused will spend Christmas behind bars.
