Murder accused Panayiotou’s final bid for bail turned down

Murder accused Christopher Panayiotou has failed in his final bid for bail with Magistrate Abigail Beeton ruling on Friday that his lawyers failed to present any sufficient new facts.

Beeton said: “Nothing that was placed before this court is new. The applicant has failed to discharge the onus on him.”

Panayiotou‚ accused of orchestrating the murder of his wife‚ Jayde‚ in April last year‚ had applied for bail based on new facts.

• Jayde Panayiotou murder: Middleman’s girlfriend spilled the beansAlleged middleman Luthando Siyoni’s girlfriend was the first one to cave in during questioning – telling a policeman everything she knew about Uitenhage schoolteacher Jayde Panayiotou’s murder. 

Lawyer Alwyn Griebenow and advocate Terry Price SC had argued in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court that the state’s case was weak‚ that key evidence would be excluded at trial because of the unlawful manner in which it was obtained and that state advocate Marius Stander had misled the court.

But Beeton said late on Friday that much of what the defence submitted was for the trial court to deal with and not for the bail court.

She said she therefore could not find any new facts permitting his release on bail.

• Panayiotou dismissive of letters his unhappy wife Jayde penned in last months of her life“I don’t know if I can live this life… Why am I not the apple of my husband’s eye‚ why does he hide so much from me and why is it impossible to communicate with him?” 

Beeton turned down Panayiotou’s first bid for bail shortly after his arrest last year. His lawyers appealed against her decision to the Grahamstown High Court‚ where they lost the second round.

Then‚ last month‚ after receiving portions of the police docket‚ Panayiotou tried his hand at freedom once again‚ this time claiming the state’s case was weak.

• Panayiotou's father was suspicious of him‚ police officer tells courtWhen Jayde Panayiotou went missing‚ her father-in-law allegedly mentioned that he sincerely hoped Christopher Panayiotou had nothing to do with her disappearance.  

Beeton’s decision means Panayiotou is likely to remain behind bars pending trial‚ which has been set down in the Port Elizabeth High Court between October 10 and December 2.

The businessman is accused of paying a former employee‚ Luthando Siyoni‚ to hire suspected hitmen Sizwezakhe Vumazonke and Sinethemba Nemembe to kidnap and murder Jayde.

- TMG Digital/The Herald