Durban - Murder accused Donovan Mark Ramdass testified in the Durban High Court on Tuesday that he had memory lapses about what transpired on the day his girlfriend was killed.
Ashika Singh, 35, was found strangled at her Alwar Road home in Merebank on May 2, 2014.
Ramdass, 32, said he had recollection of only two things from that night - he had consumed crack cocaine and had received an SMS on his cellphone while he was in uMhlanga.
The SMS read that he (Ramdass) had (allegedly) killed his girlfriend. (The source of the SMS was not disclosed in court.)
Questioned by State advocate Krishan Shah, Ramdass said he could not recall whether he had driven the deceased’s courtesy car on the night of the murder.
The State charges that after Singh was murdered, Ramdass allegedly fled the crime scene in Singh’s hired courtesy vehicle.
The car was found abandoned in Mahatma Gandhi (Point) Road.
The State claims one of the rooms in Singh’s home was ransacked and her money and jewellery stolen by the killer.
The accused agreed with Shah’s submissions that Indian people hid their jewellery in their shoes, bags and so on. Ramdass was able to answer a series of questions which Shah had posed to him concerning the layout of the deceased’s home, including where the house and car keys were kept .
He disputed that Singh’s driveway gate had worked perfectly, and claimed that a technician was called to see why the gate was faulty.
The State has disputed his version, claiming that before he fled the crime scene, he used a stone to jam the gate.
On Friday, Professor Dan Lamla Mkhize, a psychiatrist, said he had consulted with the accused and that Ramdass had not mentioned to him that he had a blackout.
Mkhize said Ramdass did not present amnesia symptoms when he consulted with him at Fort Napier Hospital.
When Shah asked Mkhize to explain, in the light of Ramdass’s amesia claims, how the alleged killer had locked the doors, had jammed the driveway gate and jumped into Singh’s car and driven off, Mkhize replied that that behaviour was “goal directed”.
Another State witness, Samesh Ramklass, whose company Motortech Panelbeaters had supplied the courtesy car to Singh, testified that at some stage the car had travelled at 160km/h before it was abandoned.
(The matter is proceeding)
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