Standing with his back to the family and friends of the woman he had murdered, convicted wife killer Christopher Panayiotou told them how deeply sorry he was for the hurt and pain he had caused them.
But as Panayiotou uttered the words in the high court in Gqeberha on Monday, not once did he look at Jayde’s distraught mother or sister seated in the public gallery.
For the first time since his arrest in 2015, he admitted to his involvement in Jayde’s kidnapping and murder.
He was testifying against Luthando Siyoni, the man who allegedly helped him arrange the hit.
He said he had paid Siyoni to get rid of his wife.
Currently serving a life sentence at the St Albans Prison, Panayiotou had exhausted all legal avenues in trying to have his conviction and sentence overturned.
“I am not proud of what I have done. I do not expect nor do I deserve forgiveness,” he told the court on Monday.
“I am deeply, deeply sorry for the hurt and the pain I caused everybody. I don't expect forgiveness.”
To Panayiotou, Jayde’s life was worth R80,000.
After he handed over the money to Siyoni on April 21 2015, he put on a show of a concerned husband and rejoined the search party to look for his wife.
Her body was found the next day.
The state alleges that Siyoni, 41, was the one who recruited the hitmen — Sinethemba Nemembe, Zolani Sibeko and Sizwe Vumazonke.
Siyoni pleaded not guilty to the murder at the start of his trial on Monday.
After losing his immunity as a Section 204 witness when he flipped on the stand to recant his confession more than four years ago, Siyoni was once again charged.
Questioned by state advocate Marius Stander on his role in the murder, Panayiotou avoided words such as “kill” or “murder”.
Instead, he used phrases such as “it” or “the thing”.
According to Panayiotou, he was under immense pressure at the time and could not cope with everything in his life, stating that Jayde’s expectation of him was to be a successful businessman and to spend time with her.
At the time of the murder, Panayiotou was working for the family’s OK Grocer in Algoa Park.
He also ran the adjacent Infinity Sports Bar, where Siyoni was employed as a bouncer.
Siyoni was allegedly roped into the murder plot after the couple had a heated argument in his presence one night.
The court also heard how many times the planned hit had failed.
Panayiotou said the murder plot encountered many “hiccups”.
The original plan was to kill Jayde outside the Stellen Glen Complex in Kabega Park where the couple lived, but she was instead driven to a bushy area in KwaNobuhle, where she was shot dead.
Jayde was shot twice in the back and finally in the head.
Panayiotou was the one who fed Siyoni information on Jayde’s movements to and from the school where she taught.
He paid for a rental vehicle to be used in the execution of the murder and at one point gave Siyoni money to skip town.
Defence advocate Siphokazi Cubungu will cross-examine Panayiotou on Tuesday, when the trial continues.
HeraldLIVE