A day after what would have been Gabriela Alban’s 40th birthday‚ her parents and closest family were in the Cape Town High Court for her murder trial.
A not guilty plea from Diego Novella - her boyfriend who stands accused of her murder - was met with blank stares by Alban’s parents‚ who travelled from Los Angeles‚ California.
As his lawyer read out his plea explanation both parents flinched as explicit details of the events leading to their daughter’s death were revealed.
Novella maintained his innocence saying he and Alban were “in love” and that her death had caused him “hours of agony and trauma”. Novella went on to say he had no “intent” to kill Alban‚ and that at the time of her death he was “in an abnormal state” because of substances he ingested.
Court documents indicate the couple ingested a mixture of cannabis oil and sceletium (a herb chewed apparently to prevent stress).
During breaks he frequently smiled and laughed with his family in the gallery.
Novella’s relaxed nature seemed to only further shock Alban’s relatives who talked among themselves as he smiled.
Her father Howdy Kabrins‚ often overcome with emotion‚ said little in and out of the courtroom except that he was “here to get justice for his daughter.” His wife Linda‚ Alban’s stepmother‚ repeated that Alban “was an angel”. Other family refused to comment.
Following his plea most of the rest of Monday’s proceedings consisted of Judge Vincent Saldanha arguing with defence attorney William Booth over Novella’s criminal responsibility.
Upon his arrest in 2015‚ Novella was taken to Valkenberg Mental Hospital where a panel of physicians found at the time of the incident he did indeed suffer from “diminished responsibility”‚ due to the drug ingestion.
Booth acknowledged while the panel found Novella fit to stand trial and able to “appreciate the wrongfulness of his offence‚” his diminished capacity would be a sufficient defence.
Saldanha rejected this argument‚ calling his capacity “no more than a mitigating factor”.
“One can lose ones inhibitions by the consumption of alcohol but that doesn’t mean they lose criminal responsibility‚” Saldanha said.
Booth was then forced to go back and consult his client‚ ending proceedings.
Alban and Novella had been dating for two years and Alban had been visiting Novella at his home in Guatemala City‚ Guatemala‚ when the couple chose to travel to South Africa in April 2015. During their visit they planned to attend a “cleansing clinic” in Magaliesburg to treat Alban’s Lyme disease.
They booked into the Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotelon July 25. Four days later Alban’s body was found with faeces on her head and a curling iron beside her. It was previously reported that Novella was arrested partially naked on Camps Bay Beach later that day.
Tuesday’s proceedings will see Alban’s father take the stand after the end of the plea phase.
TMG Digital/TimesLIVE
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