Frustration over new delay in Jayde case
MURDER accused Christopher Panayiotou’s lawyers took issue with senior state prosecutor Marius Stander’s absence from court yesterday.
As the case was postponed once again due to Stander being tied up in another case in the Port Elizabeth High Court, Price accused the state advocate of holding the court to ransom.
“He should not dictate [time frames] to your worship,” defence advocate Terry Price SC said.
“He is more likely of falling pregnant than showing up for court.” Advocate Mujaahid Sandan, who stood in for Stander yesterday, said Stander was tied up in a murder trial in the higher court.
He read from the record where acting Judge Thembekile Malusi refused to excuse Stander to attend to Panayiotou’s bail application.
Magistrate Abigail Beeton postponed the case to Monday, but said it would go ahead with or without Stander.
Referring yesterday to the evidence of the state’s key witness, self-confessed middleman Luthando Siyoni, Price said if it was found at trial that his testimony had been given under duress – in other words, he was beaten into giving a confession – “then that ladies and gentlemen will be the end of the case".
In submitting their heads of argument to Beeton, Price said: “The state’s last desperate attempt to convince this court that Siyoni was not ill-treated should be approached with serious trepidation by this court.”
Panayiotou, 30, is accused of paying former employee Siyoni to hire hitmen to kidnap and murder his wife, Uitenhage school teacher Jayde, 29, in April last year.
He was denied bail following his arrest shortly afterwards. Stander insists the defence failed to show any new facts permitting bail for Panayiotou. Stander will respond to Price’s heads of argument on Monday.
The defence claims that:
- Stander and investigating officer Lieutenant Kanna Swanepoel misled Beeton with regard to the strength of the state’s case;
- Stander lied about Panayiotou’s mistress, Chanelle Coutts, providing a motive for the murder; and
- The evidence of Siyoni and initial investigator Warrant Officer Leon Eksteen, who it says acted as a double agent, will ultimately be found to be inadmissible at trial.
