‘I hope I will no longer be referred to as a vampire’‚ says former person of interest in Anika Smit murder case
"I was called a Satanist and a murderer by various people‚ including the media."This is an excerpt from a statement Damian Treeby read out after Andreas Johannes van Wyk‚ the man suspected of the murder of teenager Anika Smit‚ appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court.Smit was found murdered at her father's Theresa Park home in 2010. She had been raped and her hands severed. Van Wyk is facing charges of murder‚ rape and body mutilation.Treeby‚ Smit's former school mate and Nico Venter‚ the teenager's ex boyfriend‚ were initially the persons of interest in the case before Van Wyk handed himself over to police on Friday."I maintained my innocence from day one‚ and this is still the case."I want to say thank you to the people who believed in my innocence - my parents‚ my family‚ my friends who know me - in spite of the fact that I was called a person of interest‚" Treeby said."I hope this chapter of my life is now dealt with."I hope that my privacy and that of my family shall be respected.“I also hope that I will no longer be referred to as a vampire‚" said Treeby...
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