Durban - A Phoenix truck driver has recalled how he and his wife went from drinking alcohol, snorting cocaine and singing “Happy Birthday” to him stabbing a man before fleeing from his house.
On September 24 last year the drug-fuelled party ended in the death of a Redhill man. The man’s wife, who was also present, was wounded.
The truck driver and his wife, a real estate company manager, were initially charged with murder and attempted murder, but after certain information came to light, state advocate Krishan Shah told the Durban Magistrate’s Court this week that the charges were withdrawn.
The truck driver was instead charged with culpable homicide, to which he pleaded guilty.
The parties cannot be identified.
In his guilty plea, tendered by his attorney Bob Bahadur, the man said they had met the Redhill couple via a website connecting couples for social activities.
They visited the Redhill couple at their home, consumed alcohol and dagga and agreed to meet again.
On the day of the stabbing, the truck driver had been spending Heritage Day with his wife and children at Blue Lagoon when the Redhill man called, inviting them over.
The truck driver agreed to bring a bottle of tequila and Hunters ciders.
That evening the Phoenix couple headed to Redhill where they consumed alcohol, dagga and cocaine and became intoxicated.
At one stage the homeowner brought out muffins, saying it was his wife’s birthday and they sang Happy Birthday.
The truck driver said his wife ate a muffin, and both wives took cocaine and smoked a cigarette.
He said his wife began to feel nauseous and he indicated that they should leave, but the homeowner’s wife took his wife to the bathroom.
He said he did not know what happened in the bathroom and he passed out due to the alcohol and drugs.
He recalled being woken up by his wife screaming for him and finding the other man holding his wife down as if forcing her down on a chair.
He thought she was in danger of being molested and seized a knife from the other man. He was himself cut in the process.
The truck driver said he and the man began grappling with each other and during the fight he stabbed his opponent several times.
He said the man’s wife became involved and was inadvertently stabbed.
During the fracas, bottles and glasses were broken, chairs were flung and the knife broke.
He said at one stage they rolled on the ground.
The truck driver said when the fighting stopped the man was screaming that he would kill or shoot them.
The Phoenix man and his wife fled the complex on foot, as they could not find their car keys.
He said they took the remote to exit the complex and contacted a friend to arrange a tow truck to remove their vehicle from the premises.
He said they then went home with the tow truck driver.
He told the court that when they left the complex, both he and his wife were unaware that the homeowner had died or of the extent of the injuries sustained by his wife.
He said later that morning, at around 6.30am, he received a message via WhatsApp requesting them to return the remote control.
The man said when they received a message that the Redhill man was dead, and that police were looking for them, they contacted their attorney, who made arrangements for them to hand themselves over to police.
The court accepted the guilty plea, adjourning the matter to December.
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