A statement given to the police by one of five people accused of murdering two elderly women in their retirement village has been accepted as evidence despite the defence fighting tooth and nail for it to be chucked out.
The pointing-out statement gives a graphic account of how the women were bound and gagged.
Meanwhile, a trial-within-a-trial continues to play out in the Gqeberha high court to determine the admissibility of a confession statement by another of the accused.
The document admitted as evidence this week was compiled by a police officer, and detailed the events of October 21 2019 when Mkhuseli Damaneti was taken to the St Johns Retirement Village in Sunridge Park to point out how the crimes were committed.
Anges Burns, 97, and Rosemary Langton, 87, were found murdered in their beds in the frail care section of the complex.
In the document, which was ruled admissible after a trial-within-a-trial, Damaneti painted a grim picture of the events of October 9 2019, when he and his co-accused managed to scale the walls of the complex and gain entry to the frail care centre, allegedly with the help of a former care worker.
In the statement, Damaneti explained how he, Luxolo Kruisjan and Akhona Mnxeba were dropped off by Nyasha Manyange outside a nearby property, which they used as a shortcut to get to St Johns.
After scaling the wall, Damaneti said they went to the door of the frail care centre, which was left unlocked for them.
They then made their way to the rooms of Burns and Langton.
According to Damaneti, they were able to access the rooms with duplicate keys they had obtained with the help of care worker Nomgebesi Slangveld.
Inside the first room Damaneti said they found an elderly lady sleeping and began ransacking her room.
When the woman woke up, Damaneti said, they tied her feet and hands together before stuffing her mouth with socks and wrapping a piece of cloth around her head.
The men then collected their loot, including removing a ring and a watch from her.
They then made their way to the second room, where they found an elderly woman who was awake and who they tied up and gagged.
Damaneti said they then took what valuables they could find, including rings the woman had on.
According to Damaneti, when they were done, both women were still alive.
They then left.
Damaneti, 33, Slangveld, 35, Mnxeba, 31, Kruisjan, 33, and Manyange, 36, have all pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, one of conspiracy to commit murder, two of kidnapping, two of robbery and one of money laundering.
Damaneti and Slangveld were arrested at their Walmer township homes on October 18 2019 and have been in custody since.
In November 2019, two other accused, Panganai Mike Mabwe, 27, and Craig Nyasha Madiro, 20, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering after they were found in possession of stolen cellphones linked to the robbery of Burns and Langton.
They were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment suspended for three years.
The case continues.
HeraldLIVE