Gardener describes killing boss’s wife

21/11/2011 Cobus Prinsloo leaves the Pretoria High Court. Picture: Sizwe Ndingane

21/11/2011 Cobus Prinsloo leaves the Pretoria High Court. Picture: Sizwe Ndingane

Published Nov 22, 2011

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Former air hostess Cordelia Prinsloo was hit on the head from behind with a garden spade twice and she fell to the ground without saying a word.

This was the evidence of Lucas Moloi, who took the stand in the Pretoria High Court against his former employer, prominent city geologist Cobus Prinsloo.

Moloi is claiming Prinsloo ordered him to kill his former wife, to whom he was married for more than 25 years before they divorced a few years before she was murdered on the morning of October 12, 2009.

Moloi was sentenced last week to 18 years’ imprisonment for his part in the murder. He claimed Prinsloo offered him R50 000 and a house in return for the killing, but he received nothing.

Moloi, 35, said after his sentencing last week that he was “more than willing” to testify against his former employer, whom he described on Monday as “actually being a good person”. Moloi, who worked as a gardener for Prinsloo, admitted that he was the one who killed Cordelia.

He said while he liked her, he agreed to kill her because he needed money.

Earlier, Prinsloo denied any knowledge of the murder. While he chose to remain silent about his defence, it emerged during his advocate’s cross-examination of Moloi on Monday that Prinsloo was claiming the gardener acted on his own initiative.

Moloi said he met Prinsloo while he was working as a security guard at a mine in Rustenburg and Prinsloo came to take rock samples.

Prinsloo eventually persuaded him to work for him in Pretoria, saying that he had also had a security company, Moloi said. When he got to Pretoria, however, he had to work as a gardener at Prinsloo’s plot, situated north of Pretoria.

Cordelia also stayed on the plot, but in a different house. In terms of the divorce settlement she was due to either receive a portion of the land or the money equivalent to its value. At the time of the killing she was still living there.

According to Moloi he knew nothing about gardening, but Prinsloo said he need not worry, as he would be shown what to do. He said on September 11, 2009, Prinsloo asked him to kill his wife after asking him whether he needed money.

“He said I must not use a gun to kill his wife, but rather tools which were available in the yard. He also said nobody must know.”

Moloi told the court that Prinsloo, a few days before the killing, instructed him to cut a hole in the fence surrounding the plot. He did this, but Prinsloo inspected the hole the next day with a security guard at his side and told Moloi to close the hole, as it appeared that burglars were trying to gain access to the premises.

Prinsloo allegedly also instructed Moloi to show Cordelia the hole.

Moloi said on the day of the killing he arrived at the plot early in the morning and he found Cordelia watering the garden in her pyjamas.

“We greeted each other and she asked me to fetch the garden spade, as she wanted to dig out some flowers. She was not facing me when I got back with the spade. I saw my chance and I hit her twice on the head and once on the shoulder with the spade. She fell on her face without ever saying a word.”

Moloi said he wrapped her body in plastic and dumped her corpse in a nearby flower bed, as Prinsloo “said he would later fetch her”. He then went into her house and took a bag, as he needed one. He only later “discovered” it was packed with items, including a Krugerrand.

According to Moloi, Prinsloo later gave him a small bag containing a firearm, which he said the gardener must use “for his own protection”. The gun belonged to Cordelia and the State claimed her husband stole it from her. Asked why the gun was not used to kill her, Moloi said Prinsloo advised against it, as it would make a noise.

Moloi said when the police later arrested him, he tried to drink acid, but an officer stopped him. He showed the court a mark where he said the acid spilt on to his hand. - Pretoria News

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