Cape Town - Cape Town nightclub owner Bruno Bronn and a man accused of his murder were sexual partners, the Western Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.
“It was common knowledge. It was more than just a relationship. It was a working relationship and a sexual relationship,” said Dawid Human, who worked as a DJ at Cape Town's gay night club The Bronx for four years and helped out with maintenance.
He was referring to Frederick Willem John Coetzer, who he identified in court as a bouncer at The Bronx.
Coetzer, Fareez Allie, and Achmat Toffa have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder and aggravated armed robbery.
The men are accused of killing Bronn, 50, in his Green Point home on February 7, 2012. According to the indictment he was strangled and died of suffocation.
A fourth suspect, Kurt Erispe, has become a State witness.
Human said The Bronx closed down about a week or two before Bronn's death and the manager had asked Coetzer to leave the club a month or two before that.
“I know in the last two weeks (before his death) Bruno wanted to end the relationship.”
Human identified Toffa in the courtroom and said he had seen him alone at the club and with Coetzer. He did not know Allie.
Carien Teunissen, for the State, asked whether Bronn ever did his own maintenance work.
Human replied that either he or Coetzer helped him out with maintenance. Bronn had a tool kit in the kitchen pantry.
Teunissen asked what he thought of a policeman's evidence that a hammer, rubber mallet, and chisel were found in Bronn's main bedroom.
“That's very odd,” Human replied.
The trial continues.
Sapa