Charges against the man accused of murdering Johannesburg socialite Hazel Crane and her estranged husband Shai Avissar were withdrawn on Monday after the investigation officer died of a heart attack.
The accused, Lior Saat, an alleged member of the Israeli mafia, was arrested in April 2001 and has been in custody ever since. He was wounded in an apparent drive-by assassination attempt in June 2001 while being transferred to court. He was charged with the murder of Avissar, a diamond dealer and also an alleged member of the Israeli mafia, and with the murder of Crane, who was to have given evidence against him.
There were 12 lesser charges.
State advocate Tom Dicker told the Johannesburg High Court on Monday the charges against Saat were withdrawn ”due to the murder of Hazel Crane” and ”the untimely death” of the investigating officer, Wayne Kukard.
Saat’s trial was scheduled to start on March 9, but he was brought to court on Monday for the withdrawal of the charges.
When Saat was brought into the court, he glanced uneasily around the courtroom to see who was in the public gallery. He was previously under heavy police guard in the courtroom.
Avissar was battered to death, apparently with a cricket bat, on October 8 1999. His body was later found in a shallow grave on a plot near Pretoria.
Rumours swelled at the time that Avissar was a ”lieutenant” to Yossi Harari, the reported head of the Israeli Ramat Amidar group. It was also rumoured that Avissar’s associates were annoyed with him for allegedly sending ”respect money” to Harari.
Crane was gunned down while driving to court on November 10 2003. Kukard died at his home early in January this year. — Sapa