Dominic Adriaanse
FIVE days after Wellington author Winnie Rust, 77, was laid to rest, her alleged killers appeared in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court.
Nigel Plaatjies, 18, from Wellington, and Johannes Plaatjies, 34, from Montagu, appeared before magistrate Brenda Mpako for a bail hearing yesterday.
The two have been charged with Rust’s murder. Johannes Plaatjies is the teenager’s uncle.
Rust’s husband Matthew, 87, found her dead on the kitchen floor
after he was woken from a midday nap by their front-gate bell on May 11. Her hands and feet had been tied, and her face was bruised.
Items belonging to Rust were later found in the possession of Nigel Plaatjies, resulting in his arrest.
Further investigation led to Johannes Plaatjies’s arrest
.
It came out in court yesterday that Rust had been strangled.
A group of Wellington residents attended yesterday’s proceedings.
The small courtroom was packed as many came to support Nigel Plaatjies’s distraught mother Lien.
The teenager was a promising athlete and was reported to have been a beneficiary of Rust, who had provided financial assistance for the small town’s promising and underprivileged youth.
Consoled by relatives and community members, Lien broke down as her son entered the courtroom.
The prosecution requested a postponement to allow Johannes Plaatjies to obtain legal aid. Mpako said this would be in the best interest of the court as the current defence would have resulted in a conflict of interest.
She postponed the proceedings until June 7. Both accused will remain in custody at Allandale Correctional Centre in Paarl East
.