Panayiotou's two homes sold

Jayde’s family not reimbursed for bond, legal fees

Christopher Panayiotou has sold his two homes – one in Kabega Park, where he lived with his wife Jayde, and the luxury Lovemore Heights house which he bought shortly before her death last year.

Panayiotou, 30, stands accused of orchestrating his schoolteacher wife’s kidnapping and murder.

His trial is ongoing in the Port Elizabeth High Court and is expected to resume tomorrow.

The large four-bedroom house in Lovemore Heights was sold just five months after Panayiotou bought it for R2.2-million in February last year. He sold it for almost R2.6-million in July that same year, according to a deed search.

Remax Independent franchise owner Kobie Potgieter confirmed she had sold the house for Panayiotou, but the couple never lived in it. “When I sold the house to them they seemed so in love,” she said.

“Christopher even told me that he would do anything Jayde wanted because he loved her.” Potgieter said the sale went through while Panayiotou was in jail. The new owners, whose names are known to The Herald, declined to comment. “The new homeowners knew who had owned the house before them.

They value their privacy and therefore do not want their identity to be known to the public,” Potgieter said. The court heard last week how Jayde’s parents had contributed about R200 000 towards the transfer, bond and legal fees.

In addition, Jayde took out a loan from Capitec Bank to the value of R150 000, also to be paid towards the house costs. The Inggs family has not been reimbursed. Meanwhile, the house the couple shared at the Stellen Glen complex in Kabega Park, where Jayde was kidnapped on that fateful morning, was sold in November last year for R665 000, according to a deed search.

Panayiotou bought the house for R540 000 in 2008. New owner Shelly Jones said when she bought the house she was aware that it had belonged to Panayiotou. “The agent was very forthcoming with the information, but I bought it anyway because I had no intention of living there as I wanted to rent it out,” Jones said.

The person renting the house declined to comment. Panayiotou’s lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, confirmed that the two houses had been sold, but could not confirm whether the Inggs family had received payment from his client.

“An attorney was appointed to deal with Jayde’s estate and a claim can be lodged,” he said.