Leigh: Dad 'emotionally ready'
2005-07-19 15:41
JOhannesburg - Leigh Matthews's father Rob said on Tuesday his family was ready to testify at the trial of Donovan Moodley, who allegedly kidnapped and murdered the 21-year-old university student.
Speaking exclusively to Sapa, Rob said his wife Sharon and daughter Karen were "emotionally ready".
"We understand there is a procedure and a process that will unfold over the next number of weeks. As a family, we believe we are emotionally prepared for that process.
"We're up to it."
According to the indictment, all the members of the Matthews family will give evidence at the trial, which starts on Monday.
Earlier in the day it was reported that Moodley was planning to address the media.
What he will say is a mystery. He has instructed his lawyer Jonathan Minnie to keep mum.
If Moodley could not address the media directly, Minnie would speak for him.
Moodley has also told his defence team not to reveal his intended plea.
Whatever Moodley said to the media could be used against him, legal experts warned.
Only accused
Meanwhile, police have maintained that Moodley will be the only accused in the case in the Johannesburg High Court.
"I spoke to superintendent Piet Byleveld an hour ago and he told me he has only one suspect," said spokesperson Chris Wilken.
Wilken said the trial was set down for six to eight weeks.
At least five policemen would help secure the courtroom, as the trial promised to attract much interest.
"This is the biggest publicity ever about a single murder," Wilken said.
Minnie and the prosecution have confirmed that no witnesses will be called for Moodley's defence and that he will not go into the witness box.
The preacher's son has been waiting for 10 months behind bars to face charges of kidnapping, extortion, robbery and murder.
Ransom
Matthews, 21, was snatched from the Sandton campus of Bond University on July 9 last year.
On the same night, during the ransom drop-off, Leigh's father Rob came within metres of his daughter's killer when he dropped an envelope with R50 000 out of his car window.
Initially the kidnapper demanded R300 000, but agreed to pick up an instalment on the dark N1 highway near the Grasmere tollgate south of the city.
Instead of returning Leigh, the kidnapper drove her to a dark field in Walkerville Manor, ordered her to strip naked and shot her in the back of the head.
It was not until July 21 that a grass cutter discovered her body lying metres from a Walkerville road. A massive police manhunt was then launched.
While the hunt was still on, Moodley became engaged on a luxury yacht off the coast of Durban.
On August 8, he proposed to his high school sweetheart Yeshika Singh during a romantic cruise.
"It was a dream come true," she later described it. The wedding was planned for June this year.
But Moodley was arrested on October 4 last year.
- SAPA