Lisa Isaacs
GUATEMALAN murder accused Diego Novella was due to hear this morning if he will be granted bail before he stands trial for allegedly killing his American girlfriend.
The State is opposing bail, saying Novella has no emotional ties to South Africa and although he has paid a deposit on a flat, it would not be motivation for him to stay, as he gets and income of R155 000 monthly.
It is alleged Novella murdered girlfriend Gabriela Alban while staying at a Camps Bay boutique hotel in July last year.
After his arrest, Novella was detained in Pollsmoor Prison. He was later admitted to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for observation.
A panel then submitted a report to the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, in which it found he was not mentally ill, but that the court could consider a plea of diminished responsibility on the grounds of drug intoxication.
Alban’s father, Howdy Kabrins, mostly sat looking down in court yesterday as defence lawyer William Booth assured the court Novella would not be a flight risk, and that he had the money for bail of R100 000, or another fair amount, and would abide by bail conditions.
Booth said Novella had paid a deposit on a place of residence, and had handed in his Italian and Guatemalan passports immediately after his arrest.
“He has played open cards with the authorities from the onset. There are no hidden facts. If we read the supporting documents, it sets his family history and business. Having two passports is nothing sinister. The accused has travelled; there is nothing wrong with that either,” said Booth.
State prosecutor Louise Friester-Sampson said, however, that Novella had no ties to the country.
“The accused has no emotional ties here, no assets here, and South Africa has no extradition treaty with Guatemala.
“The accused paid a deposit on a flat. The amount of money he receive amounts to R155 000 as a monthly income. Entering into a six-month lease would total about R99 000. The accused can easily afford to forfeit that amount,” she said.
She added that it was “ludicrous” to expect someone with access to these funds to stay in the country.
Friester-Sampson further said Novella had also previously remained in the US after his visa expired and had to be deported. He has also been previously convicted for driving under the influence.
Magistrate Grant Engel is expected to rule on bail this morning.
Novella met Alban in 1999 and they dated for about six weeks, before continuing to have sporadic contact until about 2005.
Four years later, she contacted him via e-mail and told him she was unhappily married.
After divorcing her husband and inviting Novella to attend a family wedding with her in Mexico, their contact became more regular.
At one stage, she told him she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and took medication that affected her behaviour, according to the report.
Novella told the panel the two had smoked dagga and took ecstasy together.
After they rented a house together, their relationship began running into trouble. Novella said Alban attacked him twice.
The accused travelled to South Africa in April last year to join a tour party in Nelspruit that explored spiritual nature sites and “high energy places”, such as the Cradle of Humankind and Tsodilo Hills.
The following month, he booked into a retreat in the Magaliesberg to undergo spiritual treatment with ibogaine (a hallucinogenic compound derived from the roots of a west African shrub).
He later moved to the Western Cape, where he toured and attended yoga classes.
Alban arrived in July and they booked into the Camps Bay hotel, before going to Rome for 10 days.
They returned to Cape Town to fetch their possessions so he could take her to the Magaliesberg retreat, the report said. They never made it and her body was found on July 29.