Alleged wife killer waits to hear fate

Mzwandile Nqozi who is accused of murdering his wife and dumping her body in a shallow grave, appeared in court. Picture: Danie van der Lith

Mzwandile Nqozi who is accused of murdering his wife and dumping her body in a shallow grave, appeared in court. Picture: Danie van der Lith

Published Feb 10, 2017

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Kimberley – Mzwandile Nqozi, the Soul City resident who has been accused of killing his wife before disposing of her body in a shallow grave, is likely to know his fate early in March after the final witness in the murder trial gave testimony in the Northern Cape High Court on Thursday.

The 39-year-old is accused of killing Kerileng Mavis Nyathi Nqozi, 34, in April last year, resulting in a community mass search for the missing woman, whose remains were eventually found contorted into a carry bag nearly two weeks later.

With the defence indicating on Thursday that they would not be calling any witnesses, the written heads of argument will need to be submitted by Wednesday with Acting Judge Janine Snyders scheduled to present her decision next month.

The fourth day of witness testimony began with police captain Richard Thomas, from the SAPS in Upington, describing the process of gathering forensic evidence from the home of the deceased before her remains were found.

“I was approached by Captain Magugu from the Kimberley Detective unit about an alleged murder,” Thomas said during his testimony.

“Upon arrival at the house in Soul City, Magugu explained that a woman had allegedly been murdered but no body had been found yet."

“We conducted our initial search, to gather evidence at the scene, on April 27 2016 and I was again approached by Magugu on the 29th to re-examine the premises with chemicals used to find traces of blood that have been wiped away.”

Thomas explained that the solution used to find traces of blood was called bluestar.

It reacts on contact with haemoglobin by turning a purplish/blue colour visible to the naked eye.

He added that this technique could identify residue that had been there for well over a year in cases where the stain has been generally concealed and sheltered over time.

Traces of blood were found in several parts of the house, including on the bedroom floor, on a sheet and a cloth behind the toilet.

Investigators also found hair inside the freezer in the kitchen which was sent to a laboratory in Cape Town for analysis, along with several other samples.

The accused will remain in custody until his next appearance.

DFA

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