THE Gqeberha businessman accused in the murder of his estranged wife, Arnold Terblanche, will have slightly more freedom now that his bail conditions have been amended.
During his most recent appearance in the Gqeberha Magistrate’s Court with his co-accused, Reinhardt Leach, Terblanche’s legal team requested an extra condition be added to his bail terms.
One of his legal representatives, Alwyn Griebenow, asked if the court would grant Terblanche permission to travel to the Kouga Municipality. This would be on the condition that Terblanche informs the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in writing first, before leaving the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro for Kouga.
It has been previously said in court that Terblanche owns a holiday home in St Francis Bay.
Prosecutor, Adv Marius Stander, said that the state has no issue with this request, and an agreement was already made between the state and defence prior to the court appearance.
The magistrate approved the amendment to Terblanche’s bail conditions and warned him to first inform the DPP in writing before going anywhere.
Stander also informed the court that the state needs more time to decipher a toxicology report riddled with technical medical jargon.
“The toxicology report is available, but the state requires assistance for it to be explained in layman’s terms,” said Stander.
He added that although a high court date was to be confirmed with this appearance, a date of postponement in June would not affect the date of the high court.
“The date for the first high court appearance has been set, but if postponed to June it will still be before the high court date,” he said.
The matter was then postponed to June 21 for further investigation pertaining to the toxicology report.
Terblanche, who was released on bail of R1 million in February, was clad in a seemingly brand-new brown leather jacket, black shirt and black jeans.
He was accompanied by his daughter, Natalie Nell, and seemed relaxed.
Leach, clean shaven and wearing a blue, dotted shirt and blue jeans, seemed more alert than at previous appearances and kept looking behind him at members of the media in the gallery.
The two are accused of being behind the murder of Vicki Terblanche who was Terblanche’s estranged wife and Leach’s girlfriend, at the time of her death.
Her body was found in a shallow grave in Greenbushes in October 2021.
A third accused, Dylan Cullis, has since been sentenced to 18 years in prison following his confession as part of a plea deal with the state in March this year.
