Pretoria - Nico Henning, the alleged mastermind behind the murder of his estranged wife Chanelle outside their son’s nursery school, was back in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
He was at court at 8am, well before the case was due to start at 9am in Court C.
The case was postponed to November 13.
Chanelle’s parents Ivan and Sharon Saincic, who are caring for her son, were also in the courtroom.
Gerrie Nel, the now famous prosecutor in the Oscar Pistorius trial, will be prosecuting the case.
Nico Henning was arrested on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder two years after Chanelle Henning, 26, was gunned down outside their son's preschool in Faerie Glen. She had just pulled away from the school when she was shot from the back of a motorcycle.
Henning allegedly hired his best friend Andre Gouws to arrange the murder in order to obtain full custody of their son.
Gouws called in the help of Ambrose Monye, a former Nigerian athlete who had dealings in the drug underworld.
Monye hired two men, former policeman Gerhardus “Doepie” du Plessis and Willem “Pike” Pieterse to carry out the murder. The two pleaded guilty in 2012 and are serving 18-year prison terms.
Gouws, shortly before he was due to be sentenced in the North Gauteng High Court for Chanelle’s murder, pointed the finger at Nico as the one who had allegedly ordered the killing.
But Gouw’s bid for a lighter sentence did not pay off. He and Monye were both sentenced to life earlier this year and have since launched appeals against their sentences.
Currently out on R10 million bail, Henning, a wealthy businessman from Hartbeespoort, paid R300 000 in cash and handed in title deeds to two properties covering the remaining R9.7m which will be held by the State.
Strict bail conditions were imposed including reporting to the police and not contacting potential witnesses including Gouws, Monye, numerous Henning family members, and employees of Avis car rental.
Pretoria News