Cape Town – “If it had gone the other way, I don’t know what my reaction would have been given my proximity to him and the small courtroom. I lost my daughter.”
Those were the words of Howdy Kabrins, the devastated father of 39-year-old American marketing executive Gabriela Kabrins Alban, who was murdered at a Camps Bay boutique hotel on July 29 last year.
Her boyfriend, 43-year-old Diego Dougherty, has been charged with her brutal murder.
On Tuesday Dougherty was denied bail in the Cape Town Regional Court.
Dougherty, from a prominent and wealthy Guatemalan family, showed no emotion as Magistrate Grant Engel outlined the reasons for his decision not to grant him bail.
The State had contended that Dougherty was a flight risk, as he has the financial means to flee South Africa and hide anywhere in the world.
The accused has an Italian and a Guatemalan passport, both of which have been surrendered to authorities.
There is no extradition treaty between South Africa and Guatemala – this also counted against Dougherty.
Dougherty also underwent psychiatric assessments and has been found fit to stand trial. But, in his affidavit he has said his mental health will play a significant role in the trial, and that he may argue diminished capacity due to drug intoxication.
Magistrate Engel said the accused is a wealthy person, with no family ties except for siblings in Guatemala.
He said the defence had argued that Dougherty had co-operated fully with police, but Engel pointed out that this was in fact not the case.
Towards the end of the bail application, Dougherty had said he was fluent in English and didn’t need a Spanish interpreter, despite the court having to postpone the matter a number of times to find an available interpreter.
Furthermore, Engel said that Dougherty, who “is not an uneducated man”, had forgotten the code to his cellphone.
“I find that strange. The State has had to go to extreme lengths to unlock it.”
Engel said the accused had been upfront with regards to his nationality and passports, as well as his wealth, and had “a support structure second to none”.
The defence had “to the best of its ability attempted to put guarantees in place”, but Engel found that Dougherty was nonetheless “indeed a flight risk”.
He said Dougherty had never had any formal employment, had no immediate family, had travelled extensively, and had the financial means to hide anywhere in the world.
Engel further found that the state has a very strong circumstantial case against the accused.
Alban’s father, Kabrins, was clearly relieved by the magistrate’s decision to deny bail. Supported by a small group of Jewish women he met at the Camps Bay synagogue near the hotel where his daughter was murdered, he said they had become “like family” and had opened their homes and hearts to him.
Kabrins said he will return to South Africa later this year, when the trial is likely to get underway in the Western Cape High Court.
“I will walk across the sun to get justice for my daughter.”
Alban’s mother Doris Weitz will return to America later on Tuesday. She said there are days when she cannot get out of bed, but she too will return to South Africa to ensure justice is done for her daughter.
African News Agency