Anika accused retracts his confession

Anika Smit’s murder accused Andreas Johannes van Wyk in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court for his bail application. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

Anika Smit’s murder accused Andreas Johannes van Wyk in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court for his bail application. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

Published Feb 1, 2017

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Pretoria - “I did not kill her and regret giving false hope that Anika’s killer has been found,” said Andreas van Wyk as he changed his tune on his evidence in court on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old man said this in an affidavit during his bail application in the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court, where he appeared on charges of murdering Anika Smit.

When he handed himself in to the police on September 17, 2016, he gave a detailed confession of how he went about the brutal murder, rape and mutilation of the 17-year-old at her Theresa Park home in 2010.

Smit, a Grade 11 pupil at Hoërskool Gerrit Maritz at the time, had stayed at home on the day of her killing because of an ear infection.

She was raped, her throat slit and her hands cut off.

Anika Smit's body was found in her home in Theresa Park. Her hands were cut off and her body riddled with stab wounds. Her throat had been slit and she had been raped. The missing body parts were never found. 

The hands were never found during the investigation.

Van Wyk was ordered to undergo evaluation at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in October shortly after he handed himself over.

In his affidavit, Van Wyk told the court that he had been approached by a man and woman while out drinking with friends in 2016 and they instructed him to confess to the murder of the teenager.

“These two unknown persons instructed me to go to the SAPS to confess that I killed Anika Smit, failing which they would inflict grievous harm on my family and I.

“These persons even gave me the name of the schools attended by my younger brother and sisters.”

Van Wyk told the court that he intended to recant his confession as he had not been of sound mind or sober senses when he handed himself over.

However, State prosecutor Tania Carstens told the court that Van Wyk knew Smit and had even scratched a message on a Gerrit Maritz desk in 2013 saying he had murdered her.

The school had taken that up with his mother.

Carstens said the 24-year-old had also told fellow detainees that he was going to misdirect the investigation and that they were lucky he could not murder, rape or cut off their hands while he was in custody.

“Ek gaan lekker met hulle koppe smokkel en dat ek my verklaring wil terugtrek (I’m going to mess with their heads and say I withdraw my statement),” she quoted in court.

“He told detainees that he wanted to be known as 'Smiley Scissorhands' and to have two hands tattooed on his chest with blood dripping from them,” she said.

The prosecutor said on his own version, Van Wyk had gone into detail on how he had taken all necessary steps to avoid detection.

These steps had included cleaning up the crime scene, removing and disposing of the victim’s hands, his weapon and Mandrax tablets, she said.

The accused remains in custody and the bail application is set to continue on Friday.

Pretoria News

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