DURBAN - The state hopes to find “trophies” allegedly in the possession of the man accused of abducting and murdering Durban North woman Siam Lee.
Magistrate Mohamed Motala explained in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday that trophies were items that a perpetrator would keep which belonged to their victims. They use these items to derive personal satisfaction for what they had done to them, Motala said.
The court heard this as Mr P, the accused who cannot be named as he is facing a rape charge, applied for bail. The bail application went into Day 10 on Friday.
Mr P was arrested in January and is accused of murdering Lee, a 20-year-old Durban North woman who was abducted from a brothel in the area. Her charred body was discovered two days later on a farm in New Hanover, in the Midlands. The murder accused faces 16 counts including the kidnapping of Lee, fraud, crimen injuria and a rape charge unrelated to Lee.
Defence attorney Martin Krog questioned investigating officer Rajan Govender on his bail affidavit, one of the things he asked, was what evidence Mr P would destroy if he were to be released on bail.
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Govender said in his affidavit that Mr P should not be released on bail as he could possibly destroy or conceal evidence.
When questioned in court, Govender said he believed that Mr P kept trophies of his victims.
“But have you found any trophies as yet?” Motala asked.
Govender said he had not, but believed that they did exist after conversations with one of Mr P’s alleged victims, his ex fiancee’, who alleged that she had seen items in Mr P’s home.
“This however still needs to be investigated,” said Govender.
The defence grilled the State as to why they had not done their investigations already, adding that Mr P had been in custody for four months.
The bail application was adjourned to June 8 for the state to re-examine the defence and present further arguments.