|
Baby killers 'paid R10 000'
05/07/2005 15:22 - (SA)
Cape Town - There were gasps in the Wynberg magistrate's court on Tuesday when it was revealed that the former boyfriend of Cape baby killer accused, Dina Rodrigues, would testify that she had paid R10 000 for a contract murder.
"You told him: 'I paid R10 000 to sort out the problem'," state prosecutor John Ryneveld said.
Rodrigues, accused of ordering last month's killing of six-month-old Jordan Norton, was continuing a bail application postponed last week.
Ryneveld said former boyfriend and biological father of the baby, Neil Wilson, would testify that Rodrigues allegedly said he (Wilson) should not worry because there was nothing linking her to the crime.
Ryneveld said the murder would have been "perfectly planned" if it wasn't for the fact that the murder suspects left a waybill behind at the scene. Handwriting
Ryneveld said phone records and handwriting analysis pointed to Rodrigues being behind the murder.
"The evidence (handwriting analysis) is thus conclusive," he said of a comparison of handwriting on a waybill found at the crime scene to waybills Rodrigues had written at her work.
This document, argued Ryneveld, was of double significance because it was one of two blank waybills a Speedfreight employee would testify Rodrigues had specifically requested.
Ryneveld said it was "definitely" Rodrigues who had written the waybill found at the crime scene, to which defence counsel John van der Berg objected, saying this was only an opinion.
Van der Berg said South African courts treated handwriting analysis cautiously and did not place to much reliance on it. 'Liar'
Van der Berg, during re-examination of investigating officer Esmerelda Bailey, described Wilson as a "liar".
"Without Mr Wilson you have bits and pieces of information, but not the clincher, as it were," said Van der Berg.
Wilson has made various allegations against Rodrigues, including that she wanted him to delete incriminating SMS messages and that Rodrigues had confessed to the murder.
"Oh my God, what have I done, I'm going to jail for the rest of my life," is what he alleged Rodrigues told him shortly after her arrest. Phone calls
Earlier, Ryneveld sketched how Rodrigues allegedly acquired the Norton home telephone number.
He said that Rodrigues' best friend, Arendienne Fourie, would testify she gave the number to Rodrigues.
Several phone calls traced to Rodrigues's office phone were made to the Norton residence a few days prior to the murder.
Jordan's uncle, Dylan, would testify that he received a phone call on June 14, the day before the child was killed, saying a package would be delivered to their home. This call was also traced to Rodrigues' place of work.
Asked why she should be granted bail, Rodrigues she had not been found guilty yet and was entitled to a fair trial.
"Because I am very much innocent," she told a packed court.
The hearing continues.
- SAPA
|
News
