A Durban man described by his co-accused as the ”Son of God” had manipulated the Lotter siblings and was behind the planning of their parents’ murder, the Pinetown Regional Court heard on Wednesday.
Investigating officer Constable Kubendran Naidoo was outlining Mathew Naidoo’s confession, as well as those given by the siblings.
The confessions were being highlighted at Naidoo’s bail application, where he stood in the dock with his girlfriend, Nicolette Lotter, and her brother, Hardus.
They are accused of killing Johannes and Magdalena Lotter at their Westville home in July.
”In a nutshell, he [Naidoo] said he manipulated accused one and two [Hardus and Nicolette] and he planned the murder and convinced accused one and two to kill their parents,” the officer told the court.
”In his confession, he makes mention of the day of the murder, the events leading up to the murders, his involvement, where he was during the murder, and his role in the murders.”
The court heard that Hardus, in his confession, spoke of the planning of the murders, the day of the murder, where equipment used in the murders was purchased, and his role in the crime itself.
Nicolette in her confession spoke of how she had met Naidoo and ”the two prior attempts at killing her father”.
The officer said she had also written about the purchasing of items used in the murder, the staging of the crime scene and her role in the crime.
Representing Mathew, defence attorney Rajendra Nathalal argued that the state did not have a good case as the police relied solely on the three confessions.
In response, the officer said the state had a strong case despite the fact that there were no eyewitness statements.
Constable Naidoo said police were also relying on crucial evidence that had been pointed out by the applicant in dustbins at two intersections in Westville.
Police found syringes, three pairs of gloves, cable ties, insulation tape, a sock and the bloodied clothing belonging to the siblings.
The officer said the police were still awaiting the results of forensic tests, cellphone records and psychologists’ evaluations.
Nathalal argued that Naidoo had no financial means to leave the country and would stand trial.
The investigating officer, however, said that these were serious charges and that Naidoo may try to evade trial.
”Any person charged with a double murder can go to extremes to leave the country, even if he doesn’t have the means. This was not a normal murder. It was premeditated. My concern is on the extent to which they went to cover up this incident. If he’s out on bail, he can do as he pleases,” said Constable Naidoo.
Nathalal asked the officer if he would agree to Naidoo being released on a large bail amount and stringent bail conditions.
He said he did not believe any conditions or any sum of money would make Naidoo stand trial.
”If he is determined not to stand trial, he won’t. And I don’t think him reporting to a police station every day will stop any accused from evading trial.”
The officer also said he believed that there would be a public outcry if Naidoo was released on bail, ”because murder where kids kill their parents is not common”.
The bail application was postponed to November 7. — Sapa