The prosecution in a murder trial, ongoing since 2010, made its closing arguments against accused Johan du Toit (38), who is charged with the murder of his 28-year-old wife, Chanel.
It is alleged Du Toit strangled and killed Chanel in cold-blood with his bare hands.
She fought for her life by pulling his hands off her face and scratched herself in the process. She scratched him too, all in a desperate attempt to save her own life.
This occurred the evening of 6 July 2010 in their cottage at the Dieu Donne Wine Estate in Franschhoek, where Du Toit had worked as a farm manager at the time.
This is what prosecutor Enslin Orange argued to magistrate Joe Magele in a regional court in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The naked body of Chanel was discovered by Du Toit’s mother early in the morning, after he had allegedly phoned her while on his way to a hunting trip, saying he had become worried when his wife was not answering his calls.
She had been strangled and signs of a struggle were clearly visible, according to the police.
Du Toit was arrested nine days after her murder and charged with killing his wife. He was released on R6 000 bail.
Orange believes the state proves beyond reasonable doubt that, if all circumstantial evidence is coherently evaluated, the only conclusion to be drawn is that Du Toit strangled and killed Chanel.
He staged the scene in the cottage in an attempt to make it seem as if someone had broken in and murdered her.
His entire defence is based on his alibi alone while totally denying the state’s witness account.
He claimed an intruder killed his wife just after he had left the farm on his way to the hunting trip.
Over the years another prosecutor in the case Chris Abrahams even claimed the state would prove the motive for the murder was a love triangle.
The couple had been married for less than a year.
The state’s circumstantial evidence was largely based on the medical witness account of a forensic pathologist and police witness, Dr Deidre Abrahams as well as the witness account of a friend of Du Toit’s.
Abrahams, who had attended the murder scene on 7 July, provided three claims to prove the time of death, concluding it had transpired around 20:00 on the night of 6 July.
Although the state based their claim predominantly on medical evidence, Orange said this was not only to prove the time of Chanel’s death, but also to prove Du Toit was still home at the time of her murder.
Witness accounts place the couple’s being last seen together at about 18:00 on 6 July 2010.
What’s more, there had been no concrete evidence to support Du Toit’s claim that an intruder had killed his wife.
“His version of events cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt,” Orange stated unequivocally in court, “and any conclusion to be made pointed to his guilt”.
Du Toit’s defence was due to deliver its own closing remarks in March.
