Franziska's father can't sit through details of her killing

29 April 2016 - 02:16 By Philani Nombembe

Details of Cape Town teenager Franziska Blöchliger's killing were so ghastly her father could not sit through the bail hearing of the murder accused yesterday.Florian Blöchliger waited for about four hours for the case to be called in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court. But he did not return after the lunch break.During the bail hearing of two of the four suspects it emerged that Franziska died of suffocation and strangulation. Her face was forced into the ground, she had sand in her mouth and throat, and she had been raped and sodomised.The four men - who cannot be named until they plead - are facing murder, rape and robbery charges. Blöchliger declined to comment.A woman who only gave her name as Tracy said: "The family is coping well under the circumstances. I can't comment any further."The 16-year-old was attacked on March 7 while jogging in lower Tokai Park.Police used the signal from her stolen iPhone to track down the suspects within 36 hours, and less than four days after the murder they appeared in court.One of the accused who applied for bail is the son of a warder at Pollsmoor Prison. He said one of his co-accused asked him to help sell the phone. He said he did not care where the cellphone came from because all he wanted was money for drugs.He admitted he had several convictions, including for housebreaking and theft.The cellphone dealer who bought the phone denied any involvement in the robbery, murder and rape.The state opposed bail and judgment is expected on Friday next week...

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