Cranks case: Confession signature 'confirmed'

21 February 2014 - 02:52 By Nomahlubi Jordaan
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The former wife of Carrington Laughton, one of three men accused of murdering a Johannesburg chef, identified his signature on a confession letter in court yesterday.

Jayne Laughton told the Johannesburg High Court that the signature on the typed confession was that of her former husband .

She was testifying in the trial of Laughton and brothers David and Carel Ranger, who are accused of murdering Betty Ketani in 1999.

Though Ketani was last seen in May 1999, her murder was not confirmed until 13 years later, in 2012, when a confession, allegedly typed and signed by Laughton, was discovered under a carpet in a rented house in Kenilworth, Johannesburg.

Ketani's skeleton was found in a shallow grave at the back of the house.

Laughton denied that the signature was his .

His former wife told the court that, in 2001, Laughton gave her an envelope containing photographs for safekeeping.

She testified that Laughton had told her that Ketani's employer, Eric Neeteson-Lemkes, the owner of Cranks restaurant, in Rosebank, wanted him to kill one of his employees, but he was not prepared to do so.

She said that Laughton had told her that he had taken photos of a woman and had "doctored" them. The photos, including of a seemingly dead woman, were of one of Ketani's colleagues, who is still alive.

It was only when she learned that Laughton had been arrested that she retrieved the envelope. There was handwriting at the back of it that she identified as Laughton's.

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