Jayde Panayiotou's diary of her private hell

27 May 2016 - 00:35 By Kathryn Kimberley
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Christopher Panayiotou is charged with having his wife, Jayde, killed.
Christopher Panayiotou is charged with having his wife, Jayde, killed.
Image: Eugene Coetzee/The Herald

Jayde Panayiotou was trapped in her own private hell in the months leading up to her murder.

In a heartbreaking note, which now forms part of the state's case against Christopher Panayiotou, 30, the young Riebeek College teacher agonised over her husband's lack of affection, his secret ways and long working hours.

In an almost child-like handwriting, she wrote: "Where do I turn to? Nobody to talk to. I write these words because I no longer have space inside. I may just explode."

  • 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.
  • Sick magistrate leads to another postponement for PanayiotouThe bail application of murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou has been postponed in Port Elizabeth Magistrate's court again on Friday.
  • Panayiotou’s bail hearing postponed till FridayMurder accused Christopher Panayiotou again appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Thursday as his bid for bail continued.
  •  Panayiotou comic book does the rounds in courtA family friend of murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou who calls himself "Oom Danie" has made a comic strip of court proceedings so far.
  • Panayiotou’s lawyer says ‘state misled the court’Christopher Panayiotou’s legal team poked holes in the state’s case on Tuesday‚ accusing the police of underhanded tactics and the prosecution of misleading the court.

Prosecutor Marius Stander handed in the letter in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court yesterday during his argument against Panayiotou's latest bid for bail.

"I'm jealous when I see other people living the life I so desperately long for," Jayde wrote on September 21 2014.

Seven months later, on April 21, she was murdered, allegedly on the instructions of her husband.

Jayde's mother, Michelle Inggs, and her younger sister, Toni, clung to each other and cried as details were revealed of how the pretty 29-year-old was hit over the head and shoved into the boot of a car.

Her fingers were crushed as the boot was slammed shut.

Her kidnappers then drove to an open field in Kwanobuhle township, where they shot her three times.

In September that year Jayde wrote: "I want a normal life. A husband that comes home at a normal time, has a normal job and makes time for his wife and his family. "Somebody that doesn't hide me or cover up. Always respects and puts his wife first."

It later emerged in court that Panayiotou was involved in a sexual relationship with Chanelle Coutts, a manager at the OK supermarket in Algoa Park.

Next to scribbles of a cross, Jayde wrote: "I don't know if I can live this life. I don't know how much more I can take.

"Why does he hide so much from me and why is it impossible to communicate with him?

"I write these words because I no longer have space inside."

Argument in Panayiotou's bail hearing continues today.

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