Witness: Robbers killed Inge
2008-03-16 23:33
Cape Town - Inge Lotz, 22, allegedly was stabbed to death with a steak knife by a member of a tik gang after the student from Stellenbosch University found a group of men in her flat.
This allegation came to light shortly after it became known that Inge's parents were suing her erstwhile boyfriend, Fred van der Vijver, who initially had stood trial for her murder, for R8.5m in a civil suit.
A 21-year-old who apparently made the allegation in a statement, is behind bars for other crimes.
Daryl Els of Christian Botha Investigators told Die Burger on Sunday that this witness, besides confessing to what he knew about her murder, had drawn a plan of Inge's flat.
"He knew exactly where the couch was and where she (Lotz) had been lying.
"This clearly placed him at the flat."
Had a bunch of keys
Els said that the floor plan had been removed from the docket.
"It was important testimony.
"With that plan, together with the confession, the judge will be able to find him (the witness) guilty."
He added that the docket was at the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).
According to the witness's statement, a group of men had gained access to Lotz's flat while its security gate was open.
They had a bunch of keys with them and could enter other flats, but chose hers because there was nobody there.
When she arrived at the flat, entered it and locked the security gate behind her, she blocked their escape because they did not have a key for the gate.
She then was murdered.
According to Els, the main witness is in Pollsmoor Prison under a pseudonym.
This alleged tik-gang member described in detail in a confession he made to a magistrate in Springbok how he had murdered Lotz.
Professor 'misinformed'
Police who worked on the investigation apparently had rejected this information.
The ICD first need to investigate allegations that were made against Director Attie Trollip and Inspector Deon de Villiers, who allegedly hampered the investigation.
Niel van Heerden who previously had been involved in the investigation said: "If the professor (Professor Lotz) still believes that it is Fred, I am sorry that they were misinformed by the police."
"Please let's just catch the murderer," he pleaded.