Boyfriend held in 'sex game' killing of US woman in Cape Town

02 August 2015 - 02:00 By SHANAAZ EGGINGTON

The head of the police's investigative psychology section was this week flown to Cape Town to interrogate the suspect in the murder of an American woman. Pretoria-based Brigadier Gerard Labuschagne is part of a team investigating the murder of marketing guru Gaby Alban, 39, allegedly by her boyfriend in a "sex and drugs session" that went wrong.A Guatemalan citizen, Diego Dougherty Novella, was taken into custody after he was found wandering semi-naked on a Camps Bay beach.Alban's body was found on Wednesday by a cleaner at the luxury Camps Bay Retreat Hotel. She was fully clothed, but had faeces on her head. Police suspect that she was suffocated or strangled.She had also been severely beaten, with autopsy results showing extensive internal and external wounds. About a kilogram of cocaine was found in the room and a curling iron was found next to her.The 41-year old Novella appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Friday, charged with her murder. He is in custody until his next court appearance on Tuesday.Advocate William Booth confirmed he will represent Novella. "We are looking for a Spanish interpreter ," he said.On social media Alban was described as an entrepreneur with deep knowledge of the corporate world and the US Hispanic community...

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