”That’s disgusting!” shouted a family member of slain student Leigh Matthews when murderer Donovan Moodley reached out to touch his fiancée’s hand as he passed her when the court adjourned for tea on Thursday.
”How is that allowed?” said the family member.
Final arguments in the trial of Moodley, who has confessed to kidnapping, extortion and murdering student Leigh Matthews, will be heard in the Johannesburg High Court on Friday.
The court adjourned on Thursday afternoon after the asset forfeiture unit (AFU) issued a confiscating order for the R50 000 Moodley received in ransom money from Leigh’s father, Rob Matthews.
Moodley will have 14 days to repay the money or the AFU will sell off assets confiscated from him. These include a Ducati motorbike, a Toyota Tazz and an engagement ring he gave to his fiancée, Yeshika Singh, after the murder.
Leigh’s body was found in a field in Walkerville by a grass cutter in July last year.
Investigating officer Superintendent Piet Byleveldt said outside the court that he was tired, and disappointed that he did not get to testify.
Defence advocate Johan Pretorius said Byleveldt’s testimony would have been a waste of the court’s time because everything had already been admitted. Byleveldt’s testimony had been prepared in advance and was more than 100 pages long.
He said, however, that Byleveldt’s testimony will be made public after sentencing.
”It’s a pity I couldn’t testify. It’s a challenge and I love it.”
When asked whether Donovan Moodley was remorseful, he said he had seen a few tears while Moodley was testifying.
”But I am just a policeman,” he said.
Donovan’s father, Stephen Moodley, said the family are devastated and waiting for sentencing.
A member of the Moodley family member told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday that Moodley’s mother has not been present in court because she is too ”weak” to handle the pressure of the case.
Earlier, Rob Matthews told the court that Moodley, who was arrested for Leigh’s murder on October 4 last year, conducted himself in a way that no longer gives him a right to life.
Rob said: ”I don’t know if anything in the world can prepare a family for what we have gone through over the past 13 months. We have, however, tried to deal with these events as best we can.”
Before testifying, Rob asked for some water and proceeded to read out a statement on behalf of his family. He continually paused to gather his thoughts whenever he spoke of his daughter afterwards.
”Mr Moodley has deprived us of a daughter, a best friend and a sister … How can one be left with no option but to kill a person?” he said.
Nearing the end of his statement, he said: ”We therefore beseech this honourable court, my Lord, to impose a sentence that will remove Mr Moodley from civil society for as long as our laws provide … He should be sentenced to jail until the day he dies. He should never be allowed to walk free. He has waived that right forever.”
His words were followed by shouts of ”yes” amid the sniffling from the crowd in the courtroom.
Stephen Moodley was the last and final witness to be called up in the case. He spoke of his son and the type of person he had been up until he murdered Leigh Matthews.
”We, as parents, had the highest hopes for our son,” he said.
He added: ”This incident came as a complete surprise to me and the rest of our family. We were utterly shocked. We still cannot believe that he is or was capable of committing these despicable deeds. This is not how we know and experienced our son.”
During Stephen’s testimony was speaking, Donovan removed his glasses and began to cry.
Stephen had hoped that his son would have followed in his footsteps one day, to become a pastor.
He directly addressed the Matthews family and became emotional when he said: ”We wish to express our sympathy. I feel ashamed that we as a family must be associated with a crime such as this.
”We assume responsibility as well because he is our son and will always remain our son. We can never ease the pain. I pray that they [the Matthews family] will forgive my son. They are the only ones who can.
”I wish to God there is something that we could do to take away that pain.”
Referring to his son, Stephen said: ”He doesn’t deserve their forgiveness. He doesn’t deserve anything. But I hope they give it to him for closure.”
The Moodley family openly wept while he spoke.
Stephen Moodley and Rob Matthews were said to have shaken hands and exchanged words after the court adjourned.
Sharon Matthews burst into tears afterwards and had to be consoled by family members including her daughter, Karen, who stroked her mother’s back while she continued to sob.