In 2005, a young student named Inge Lotz was found murdered in her apartment in Stellenbosch.
The police quickly suspected her boyfriend, Fred van der Vyver, due to the force that was used and because there were no signs of forced entry. Understandably.
Cases like these are depressingly familiar in South Africa.
Records show that when someone is murdered, especially when there is so much violence, it is almost always someone close to the victim.
Forensics found Fred’s fingerprints all over Inge’s flat, which makes sense as he stayed over there the night before her murder.
But the crucial piece of evidence was a DVD that Inge rented the afternoon of her murder. Police found Fred’s fingerprints on this DVD cover.
The post-mortem indicated that she was murdered with a hammer. When police searched Fred’s car, they found a small hammer.
A bloodied footprint that was found in Inge’s bathroom was matched to Fred’s shoes.
Fred was charged with the murder of Inge Lotz.
The only problem was that Fred had a solid alibi.
Rumours also emerged that their perfect relationship had some cracks and that Fred was the jealous type.
Fred maintained his innocence throughout, and his family sold their farm to ensure he received a proper legal defence.
The state’s seemingly solid case would soon start to fall apart.
Fred’s legal team produced an American fingerprint expert, who testified that the print on the DVD had been planted.
The print on the DVD had rounded edges that you would expect to find on a wine glass and not a flat surface.
Another issue with the DVD was that only one fingerprint was found, and not multiple as you would expect.
The footprint evidence was brought into question when the expert, who was consulted by the state, reported to the defence team that the report produced by the state was false.
It was also concluded that the hammer found in Fred’s car was too small and weak to have been used in the attack.
Fred was found not guilty.
Civil suits were filed by both families.
A chilling thought that if you don’t have millions, you might be found guilty on planted evidence.
Sadly, there has been no justice for Inge, a young bright girl whose future was brutally stolen.
Her killer still walks amongst us.
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