Griekwastad Trial: Murder of the Steenkamp Family

[APoc184]

At this stage the defence is just denying the majority of the stuff the witnesses (all family, neighbours and friends) are saying the boy told them in the days/moments after the murders.

He apparently told his aunt that he picked up a gun and fired a shot to let the intruders know he is armed. (Nothing of this was mentioned by the police or his statement) This was the day after the murders so he probably knew by then that he has been tested for gun shot residue and could possibly have been trying to cover his tracks?

Was it another gun or one of the guns he picked up at the gate as per his explanation? Because he also said the guns he picked up were empty.

I'm guessing he will take the stand and testify later. Because his advocate keep saying the "The boy will testify that he did not......." and "The boy will testify that he said......".

State is probably counting on that and to go all hostile on him like the defence has gone on the state's witnesses.

 

[LazyLion]

Ballistic Experts Visit Griekwastad Farm

Griekwastad murder investigator Colonel Dick de Waal told the Northern Cape High Court on Wednesday that a team of ballistic experts from Cape Town and Pretoria visited the farm murder scene.

De Waal was led through his testimony-in-chief for a second day by prosecutor Hannes Cloete on a day-by-day progress of his investigation into the 2012 Good Friday Griekwastad farm murders.

Judge Frans Kgomo was hearing evidence in the murder trial of a 16-year-old boy accused of the murders of Griekwastad farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14, on the farm Naauwhoek, on April 6, 2012.

On the Monday after the murders a huge provincial police contingent of senior officers met the victims' family on the farm on a courtesy visit.

Arrangements were also made for a team of ballistic and forensic experts to visit the farm on the Thursday for a scene reconstruction.

De Waal said cellphone numbers were obtained from family members to help the investigation.

He also followed up information received about individual transactions concluded by Deon Steenkamp before the weekend.

None of the transactions seemed suspicious.

De Waal testified that post mortems were conducted at the state mortuary in Bloemfontein.

There a team of police experts also gathered to collect information.

The case continues.


Source : Sapa /ag/aa/ks/dd
Date : 27 Mar 2013 11:41

 

[APoc184]

More importantly was his testimony just before lunch now.

Cellphone records show the mom sent an SMS to her sister just after 18h00.

The boy arrived at the police station 13minutes later to report the murders.

When the officer reconstructed the events (as told by the boy) he could only manage it in 24minutes. And he did not hide in the barn for a second time like the boy said. It would have taken 30+ min if he did.

He also testified that the boy's hands tested negative for GSR but both his shirts confiscated did test positive.

 

[Fudzy]

More importantly was his testimony just before lunch now.

Cellphone records show the mom sent an SMS to her sister just after 18h00.

The boy arrived at the police station 13minutes later to report the murders.

When the officer reconstructed the events (as told by the boy) he could only manage it in 24minutes. And he did not hide in the barn for a second time like the boy said. It would have taken 30+ min if he did.

He also testified that the boy's hands tested negative for GSR but both his shirts confiscated did test positive.

Source?

 

[APoc184]

Source?

Sorry. I was following on Twitter.

Case has now been postponed until 2 September. Crazy!

 

[Fudzy]

Sorry. I was following on Twitter.

Case has now been postponed until 2 September. Crazy!

So was I, didn't see that in any of my feeds. Damning evidence indeed.

 

[APoc184]

So was I, didn't see that in any of my feeds. Damning evidence indeed.

Just checked quickly on the #Griekwastad search. Some in Afrikaans.

Selfoonontvangs is ook getoets. Christel se laaste SMS is om 18;34 gestuur aan haar suster, Marietha Massyn

#DeWaal says according to #Griekwastad police station's records a call was made to the station commander at 18:47

Only 13 minutes between the last SMS and the time the murders were reported

Dit het #DeWaal 24 minute geneem om die gebeure te rekonstrueer wat die seun 13 minute geneem het. JS

#DeWaal sê hy het nie die tweede keer weggekruip soos die seun vertel het nie, maar as hy het, sou dit 30+ minute geneem het

#DeWaal says he did gunshot residue tests on the boy's hands. It was negative.

Daar is hemp van seun in huis gekry en 'n 2e hemp agter die polisiestasie.Op beide is kruittoetse gedoen en beide was positief.#Griekwastad

 

[LazyLion]

Cop details mental agony

The investigator in a Griekwastad triple murder was in agony before declaring a 16-year-old boy a suspect, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

"I was in mental agony, the facts of the scene... fingers started to point to him, a boy of 15," Colonel Dick De Waal told Northern Cape Judge President Krans Kgomo.

Kgomo was listening to evidence in the murder trial of a 16-year-old boy, who was 15-years-old at the time of the killings.

"I could not think that a boy could be involved in such a matter," the policeman said.

Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14, was killed on their farm Naauwhoek, on April 6, 2012.

De Waal told the court he gave the boy the benefit of the doubt from the start.

"We tried all possibilities away from the boy."

He said eventually the investigating team informed the boy through his lawyer in May last year, almost a month after the murders, that he was a suspect.

De Waal said instruction was received from the prosecuting authority that the boy be treated as a suspect and that any discussions with him should be through his lawyer.

The court heard that the boy's legal team -- since he was informed of being a suspect -- never phoned to find out how the investigation was going or if any other suspects were identified.

De Waal testified that tests for firing residue on the victims had turned out negative.

Earlier, he said a gunpowder residue test conducted on the boy's hands was negative, while tests done on two shirts were positive.

The court heard that the murder scene was unusual.

De Waal said house breaking, robbery and farm attack scenes were usually left in chaos. There were no signs of forced entry at the farmhouse.

Usually the victims were tied up and there would be signs of a struggle, with furniture knocked over.

De Waal said at these kind of crime scenes the inhabitants' belongings, such as clothes and personal items, would have been thrown from cupboards and drawers. In this case only one or two drawers were found open.

The court heard no luxury items were stolen, except for allegations of some money and a knife from one of the victims.

Six cellphones, usually a popular item taken during robberies and farm attacks, were found in the house.

Prosecutor Hannes Cloete meticulously took De Waal through evidence indicating the firearm safe was found open, with firearms and ammunition still inside it.

The investigator testified that getting firearms was usually the motive behind farm attacks. In this case, firearms were left in the safe and the murder weapons were found outside the house.

De Waal said a .357 revolver and a .22 rifle, which were found outside the house, were the weapons used to kill the Steenkamps. They were linked positively with empty cartridges found with the firearms and on the scene in the house.

Electrical equipment such as computers, laptops and radios were left undisturbed in the farm house. The land-line had not been destroyed, the television was still on, and the DVD player and DSTV decoder were untouched. The family was apparently watching the television show Vetkoekpaleis on the night of the murders.

Three wallets were found in the house, with about R4000 in one of them, De Waal testified.

De Waal told Kgomo he investigated the possibility of some sort of revenge attack on the Steenkamps.

"We could not find any evidence of a revenge attack. They were dear members of the community and people praised them."

The boy's legal counsel Willem Coetzee said that he would not be able to finish his cross examination within a day.

Kgomo postponed the trail to September 2.


Source : Sapa /ag/hdw
Date : 27 Mar 2013 16:35

 

[Fudzy]

Very suspicious, I wondered how hard it was to remove GSR from the hands. Turns out, not very.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090111221735AA2BUwN

 

[LazyLion]

Son stands to Inherit R23 Million

The son of murdered Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, Don Steenkamp, is the only heir to the family's almost R23 million estate, it was reported on Wednesday.

According to Beeld newspaper his parents' firearms, including those believed to be the murder weapons, were also left to him.

Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14, were shot dead on the family farm Naauwhoek on April 6, last year.

Beeld reported that Deon and Christelle had a joint will. The assets in the estate were worth R22,999,307 and the liabilities to a single bond account R620,779.

Some R6.7m cash was collected from Deon's policies. There was also a Naauwhoek trust with farms worth R7.6m and cattle to the value of R1.2m, which Don would inherit.

His sister would have inherited the Edelweiss trust that consists of farms worth R6.4m, cattle valued at R960,150, and her mother's jewellery. Now Don would also inherit her portion.

He would only inherit the estate once he turned 21.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested for the murders and has pleaded not guilty. The murder trial is scheduled to resume on September 2.


Source : Sapa /dm/fg/jk/th
Date : 24 Apr 2013 15:06

 

[Fudzy]

So the son isn't the suspect?

 

[APoc184]

So the son isn't the suspect?

He is. Media are just not allowed to name him or say directly that it is the son.

That is why they keep on starting the articles by saying that he is 16 and the only one left after the attack. Then at the end they will always say a 16yo has been arrested due to the murders.

 

[Fudzy]

He is. Media are just not allowed to name him or say directly that it is the son.

That is why they keep on starting the articles by saying that he is 16 and the only one left after the attack. Then at the end they will always say a 16yo has been arrested due to the murders.

What is the purpose of the cover up? Those who have been following the story know this already, while those who might have just picked it up might assume that the son is the only surviving member from an attack by a 16yo (which I guess is a half-truth)

 

[APoc184]

What is the purpose of the cover up? Those who have been following the story know this already, while those who might have just picked it up might assume that the son is the only surviving member from an attack by a 16yo (which I guess is a half-truth)

It is not a cover up. By law he is not allowed to be named because he is underage.

So the media try to say it is the the son, without actually saying it is the son. Some do it better than others.

 

[LazyLion]

What is the purpose of the cover up?

It's not a cover up. It's standard procedure. Courts are not allowed to name the names of any minors involved to the media.
The young witness in the Satanic murder trial is also not named.

 

[Fudzy]

It's not a cover up. It's standard procedure. Courts are not allowed to name the names of any minors involved to the media.
The young witness in the Satanic murder trial is also not named.

Yeah I know the name can't be mentioned but surely the relationship can?

 

[LazyLion]

Yeah I know the name can't be mentioned but surely the relationship can?

Duh. If they mention the relationship, then everybody will know his name.

 

[Fudzy]

Duh. If they mention the relationship, then everybody will know his name.

They won't know the name, they will know the relationship which is two different matters IMO.

 

[LazyLion]

Case postponed

The trial of a 17-year-old boy accused of murdering a Griekwastad farmer and his family will be postponed, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Thursday.

After consultations on Wednesday, Northern Cape Judge President Frans Kgomo, the defence and the prosecuting teams agreed to postpone the case on Monday, October 21, provincial spokeswoman Mashudu Malabi said in a statement.

No reasons were given. The trial would resume in the Kimberley High Court on November 4.

Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14, were killed on their farm Naauwhoek on April 6 last year.

Malabi said the trial was expected to run for the whole of November, with additional dates in December if needed.


Source : Sapa /gq/hdw/cls/th
Date : 17 Oct 2013 14:36

 

[Carol35]

The son of murdered Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, Don Steenkamp, is the only heir to the family's almost R23 million estate, it was reported on Wednesday.

According to Beeld newspaper his parents' firearms, including those believed to be the murder weapons, were also left to him.

Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14, were shot dead on the family farm Naauwhoek on April 6, last year.

Beeld reported that Deon and Christelle had a joint will. The assets in the estate were worth R22,999,307 and the liabilities to a single bond account R620,779.

Some R6.7m cash was collected from Deon's policies. There was also a Naauwhoek trust with farms worth R7.6m and cattle to the value of R1.2m, which Don would inherit.

His sister would have inherited the Edelweiss trust that consists of farms worth R6.4m, cattle valued at R960,150, and her mother's jewellery. Now Don would also inherit her portion.

He would only inherit the estate once he turned 21.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested for the murders and has pleaded not guilty. The murder trial is scheduled to resume on September 2.


Source : Sapa /dm/fg/jk/th
Date : 24 Apr 2013 15:06

Does anyone know what happens now to the estate? Will he still inherit or is it dependent on the outcome of the court case?
Ie: Guilty- doesn't get the money, Innocent- inherits a fortune?