An expert witness has told how a tracker fitted in the Toyota Etios allegedly used to kidnap Jayde Panayiotou on April 21 last year circled her Stellen Glen complex in Kabega Park – going no faster than 25km/h – before suddenly stopping‚ then speeding off again.
Later‚ the vehicle allegedly stopped on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth‚ where Jayde‚ 29‚ was shot dead.
Lorenz Stoger of Cartrack PTY Ltd told the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday morning that on April 13‚ just days before the murder‚ the rental vehicle could be traced to Ruth Street in Glen Hurd‚ where the school teacher’s colleague‚ Cherise Swanepoel‚ lived at the time.
The state claims that on the days leading up to the murder‚ Sizwezakhe Vumazonke‚ Sinethemba Nemembe and on occasion‚ Zolani Sibeko‚ circled Jayde’s route to work in Uitenhage‚ which included Swanepoel’s residence‚ as the two would car pool.
Jayde’s husband‚ Christopher Panayiotou‚ is accused of orchestrating the murder.
Earlier on Monday‚ defence advocate Terry Price SC‚ told Christopher Panayiotou’s former employee‚ Mawonga Ndedwa‚ that cellphone plotting and billing disproved a lot of his evidence-in-chief.
Ndedwa‚ who returned to the stand for the third day on Monday‚ claimed Panayiotou made use of his phone to contact middleman Luthando Siyoni‚ who has admitted to arranging the hit.
He said after Jayde’s body was found‚ Panayiotou paid him to get rid of the handset.
But Price said cellphone evidence contradicted Ndedwa’s version that Panayiotou sometimes kept Ndedwa’s phone overnight.
While Price was insistent that the phone “slept over” at Ndedwa’s home in Zwide every night‚ state advocate Marius Stander said the billing showed that on April 9‚ it was most definitely not in Zwide.
Price said it was also strange that Panayiotou would use Ndedwa’s phone to contact Siyoni‚ as well as his own phone.
Testimony continues.
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