Cape Town - Slain newlywed Anni Hindocha’s family will on Thursday mark four years since her murder as the State draws nearer to closing its case against her husband.
The Swedish beauty was shot dead on the night of November 13, 2010 - exactly four years ago.
On trial in the Western Cape High Court is her British husband Shrien Dewani, who stands accused of orchestrating the murder, in what is alleged to have been a staged hijacking while the couple were on honeymoon in Cape Town. The trial, however, is not sitting on Thursday.
It is understood that Dewani requested not to sit so that he could commemorate the anniversary of her death.
Anni’s family - including her parents Vinod and Nilam Hindocha, and her brother Anish - are expected to lay flowers and pray this afternoon at the spot where her body was discovered in the back seat of an abandoned car in Khayelitsha. They will then proceed to a Hindu temple to perform a prayer ritual.
In court on Wednesday, Western Cape Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso hauled the prosecuting team over the coals because it was still preparing a witness.
This came after prosecutor Adrian Mopp told the court that their next witness, a primer (gunshot) residue expert, had been asked to prepare a supplementary report dealing with one particular aspect. Dewani’s advocate, Francois van Zyl SC, indicated the defence didn’t yet have any such report.
According to Mopp, the witness they had intended to extract primer residue evidence from - a previous witness, ballistics expert Warrant Officer Pieter Engelbrecht - said in court he felt he was not competent to testify on primer residue.
But Judge Traverso said:
“This crime was committed four years ago… Now you tell me you’re still waiting on something as fundamental as primer residue?”
Earlier, the defence recalled investigating officer Captain Paul Hendrikse.
Van Zyl read out SMSes between the couple following their wedding.
He asked Hendrikse whether he agreed that the messages were “bantering between two people who obviously have affection for each other”. Hendrikse agreed.