Cape Town - A Westlake man who was once adamant “possible video footage” could prove his innocence, is now prepared to accept a plea bargain offered by prosecuting authorities in the case involving the murder, rape and robbery of 16-year-old schoolgirl Franziska Blöchliger.
The details of what Jerome Moses is prepared to admit were not divulged when he appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
However, it was placed on record that he was satisfied with the State’s offer.
The deal is expected to be finalised by his next court appearance.
Moses has not been linked to the crimes via DNA and at the time of his bail application was only implicated as having sold Franziska’s iPhone to his co-accused, Daniel Easter.
But the investigation has since been completed and Moses has now had a change of heart, which could see him end up behind bars for several years.
At previous court appearances it emerged Moses is the son of a prison warder and ended up following a life of crime.
He was chased away from the Westlake community.
He was joined in the dock on Friday by Easter, Jonathan Jonas and Howard Oliver.
Oliver is also negotiating a plea bargain with the State, but his attorney, Monique Carstens, told the court she was waiting for the State to supply her with further particulars, including a histology report.
Oliver is the only one of the four accused who has been linked to the crimes via DNA, but it is the State’s case that Franziska’s injuries were so severe he could not have acted alone.
Once Carstens has received the requested documents, she will finalise discussions with the State.
Shortly after his arrest, Oliver wrote a letter to Franziska’s parents, which was never handed to the court.
The handwritten letter apparently contained an apology to the Blöchligers and expressed Oliver’s regret and remorse.
This means if the prosecution has its way, two key accused could be in prison for offences related to the highly publicised crime in Tokai Forest in which Franziska was raped and killed in March.
The remaining accused, Jonas and Easter, are unlikely to accept a plea deal, the court heard on Friday.
They are however willing to listen to what the State has to offer them, their lawyer submitted on Friday.
The case was supposed to have been transferred to the Western Cape High Court for a pre-trial conference but, in light of the developments, prosecutor Renee Prinsloo-Uys requested a postponement.
Franziska had gone for a jog through the forest and had arranged to meet meet her mother and sister at a particular point.
When she never arrived, a search ensued and her body was eventually found under the forest fynbos, just a stone’s throw from Pollsmoor Prison.
Her wrists were bound, she had inhaled sand and there was congestion of her internal organs and a ligature around her neck.
There were also signs of strangulation.
She had been raped and sodomised.
A post-mortem examination conducted on her body showed she died as a result of suffocation caused by having her face pressed against the ground and being throttled.
The following day police arrested the four men after tracking an app on Franziska’s cellphone which revealed it was in the Westlake area.
The men are expected back in court on October 17.
Weekend Argus