The case against Donovan Samuel Moodley, suspected of murdering Johannesburg student Leigh Matthews, has been postponed to October 15.
The 24-year-old from Brackenfell, Alberton, appeared briefly in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
He is facing charges of murder, kidnapping, extortion, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Matthews’ mother Sandra Matthews burst into tears when the court proceedings were finished.
Earlier, Matthews’ father lashed out at the media as family, friends, and journalists waited outside the court.
He was angry that a Johannesburg newspaper had mentioned the suspect’s name.
”There is such a thing as responsible reporting,” he said to a group of reporters and photographers.
Earlier, Moodley arrived at the court under a police escort. He was wearing brown trousers, a red and white striped shirt, and carried his jacket over his face.
He was arrested in Alberton on Monday after nearly three months of intensive police investigation led by a team of top Johannesburg detectives.
He is a student at Bond University in Sandton, the same institution that Matthews attended.
The trial will eventually take place be in the Johannesburg High Court.
Matthews disappeared from outside the university on July 9 — the day before she was to have celebrated her 21st birthday.
Her body was found 12 days later by a municipal worker cutting grass in Walkerville, South of Johannesburg. She had been shot.
A ransom of R300 000 was demanded but only R50 000 was handed over, detectives confirmed on Tuesday.
They also confirmed that the murder weapon and the ring Matthews was wearing at the time she disappeared had been recovered. – Sapa