Image: Eugene Coetzee
The man who allegedly helped Christopher Panayiotou have his wife killed, will apply for bail on Wednesday morning after proceedings were once again delayed on Tuesday.
Luthando Siyoni, 37, faces a charge of murder following the kidnapping and murder of 29-year-old Jayde Panayiotou in April 2015.
Siyoni had been on the run for nearly six months and was arrested in May 2018 at his home in Kwazakhele.
His immunity from prosecution was revoked after Port Elizabeth High Court Judge Dayalin Chetty found Siyoni to be a poor witness who lied and concocted varying versions of events during the murder trial of Jayde.
He is facing the same charge as Jayde’s husband, Christopher, who was convicted in November of her murder. Panayiotou’s application for leave to appeal was denied last week.
Jayde went missing from outside her home in Kabega Park, Port Elizabeth, on April 21 2015. Her body was found in KwaNobuhle the next day.
Siyoni, a former employee of Christopher Pananayiotou, was the first to be arrested in connection with Jayde’s murder, after police received a tip-off.
He quickly confessed the details of the kidnapping and the murder, which were made in statements obtained from both him and his girlfriend, Babalwa Breakfast.
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