GQEBERHA – More state witnesses took the stand on the seventh day of the murder trial of businessman Arnold Terblanche, who faces life imprisonment for his alleged involvement in his estranged wife’s death.
The state accuses Terblanche of orchestrating his estranged wife’s death with the assistance of her boyfriend at the time, Reinhardt Leach. The couple, who married in 2006 and share one child, lived in Westview Villas, an upmarket housing complex in Gqeberha.
Vicki Terblanche’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in Greenbushes on 23 October 2021. During divorce proceedings, she had been seeking R35 000 per month in maintenance and a significant financial settlement.
READ MORE HERE: Crime scene photos questioned in Terblanche murder case
The first state witness of the day, Europcar National Risk Manager Kobus Small, confirmed to prosecutor Marius Stander that Leach hired a Hyundai i20 that was collected on 4 October at Cape Town International Airport and was due to be returned on 4 November.
Small revealed that Leach upgraded to a BMW on 17 October, paying an upgrade fee. He stated he was contacted by police on 23 October about the vehicle, as they wanted the locations of where the BMW had travelled.
During cross-examination by Terblanche’s legal representative, Peter Dauberman, Small was questioned about the validity of the statements provided by Europcar. Small responded that all information is accurate to the best of his knowledge, and that an SMS is sent with all data including latitudes and longitudes of where the vehicle travels, when the car is started, and the odometer reading.
He noted that the information cannot be altered, which is why both statements of the vehicle’s movements were provided in PDF format.
Captain Sherwin Welsh, currently stationed in KwaMaqoma (formerly known as Fort Beaufort) but stationed in Gqeberha in 2021, testified that on 23 October he was requested by a captain attached to Mount Road police station to attend to a missing person scene in Greenbushes, where there was suspicion that a missing person might be present.
Welsh revealed he was part of the team that recovered Vicki’s body through the use of a dog trained to detect bodily fluids.
“We did not know if there was a body. We identified loose sand in the area, and that is why we needed the dog. It was a dense bushy area,” he told the court.
The team found the shallow grave where Vicki’s body lay, buried 0.4 metres underground. Welsh noted she still had jewellery on when her body was discovered.
ICYMI: WATCH | Terblanche trial postponed for digital photo processing
Welsh further revealed that blood was present on a pillow in Vicki and Arnold’s son’s bedroom. The white BMW used by Leach in October was also processed for evidence.
He told Stander that a light-coloured hair strand was found in the vehicle’s boot, and a cartridge was found between the driver’s seat and console of the BMW. Tik and blood were also present in the car.
During cross-examination, police photographer and exhibit collector Romano van Rhyners was asked whether there were signs of violence at the crime scene. Van Rhyners answered “no” based on the images used during the proceedings.
Dauberman asked Welsh whether he had disturbed the crime scene at Westview Villas. He answered no.
When asked whether Welsh thought there was a struggle in the son’s room, he also agreed, stating there was no struggle.
Dauberman noted that the state alleges that Vicki’s body was suffocated on the son’s bed and that sheets were used to cover the body of the mother.
Dauberman further asked whether any sheet or bedding was found in the shallow grave in Greenbushes, the BMW, or the house. Welsh responded no.
The matter is set to continue on Wednesday, 18 March.
ALSO READ: Gqeberha businessman Arnold Terblanche faces life imprisonment in wife’s murder trial
You must be logged in to post a comment.