Crane's assassination witnessed
2003-11-10 20:57
Johannesburg - A manhunt is underway for the man who on Monday shot Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's close friend, socialite Hazel Crane, with police saying they were following strong leads.
The assailant, who hid behind a bin on the corner of 1st Street and Atholl Oaklands Drive before pouncing on Crane's car and firing six shots at it, was apparently seen escaping the scene by witnesses.
Crane was on her way to the Johannesburg High Court to testify in the jurisdiction hearing of Israeli diamond dealer and alleged mafia member Lior Saat, 33, accused of murdering Crane's estranged husband Shai Avissar.
Avissar, an alleged mafia godfather, was last seen alive at a fast-food outlet in Norwood. In January 2000 his battered body was found by police in a shallow grave on a smallholding in Erasmia, Pretoria.
Saat is alleged to have bludgeoned Avissar to death in October 1999, in Sunninghill, east of Johannesburg. He appeared in court on Monday despite the fact that a key witnesses in his trial had been eliminated.
An Israeli national, Saat is challenging the jurisdiction of the South African courts to try him. He claims he was abducted from the Mozambican border and brought to South Africa illegally.
On Monday, police witnesses strongly denied this, telling the court Saat was arrested on the South African side of the border after being deported from Mozambique because his visa had expired.
A jurisdiction verdict could be handed down on Wednesday. If the court rules in favour of a trial, Saat will face 13 charges, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and illegal possession of teargas and a firearm.
Saat also faces charges of intimidating Crane. He allegedly held a gun to her head.
As recently as last week, Crane was heard saying during a court adjournment that she had bodyguards but that she nevertheless feared for her life.
This was following an attempt on her life in May this year.
She was in Atholl Oaklands with three companions when a man in the back seat of an Audi aimed a firearm at them as they ducked for cover.
One person was hit. Ironically, this was the man Crane had hired to discuss security arrangements for herself.
Crane who sustained bullet wounds to her head, chest, arm and leg on Monday, was in the car with her friend when she died. The friend sustained a bullet wound to the hand.
- SAPA