REUTERS

A Pretoria businessman accused of planning his pregnant wife's murder pronounced her dead after touching her feet, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.

This was the evidence of Cobus Botha, a neighbour of the accused, Brooklyn Pieter Moon.

Botha said Moon arrived at his house late in the afternoon on June 26, 2008 and asked him to accompany him to his house because he thought someone had broken in.

They went to the kitchen and study first. Moon said some of his belongings were gone.

In the main bedroom they saw that the covers on the bed had been pulled up and only the feet of Moon's common-law wife Antoinette Botha were sticking out.

The neighbour wanted to see if she was still alive, but Moon moved past him and touched her feet. He started crying and said she was already cold.

It was then that Botha saw a brick on the floor and that there was a lot of blood in the room. He took Moon's arm and told him that they should rather leave and call the police from his house.

They waited at Botha's house until the police arrived.

Botha said he had seen Moon leaving the house that morning and again saw him leaving with his young son after lunchtime.

He had been home the whole day, but never heard strange noises or seen strangers at the house.

Moon told him a black Mercedes Benz, a radio, laptop and phone were missing.

Moon, a businessman of Waverley in Pretoria, Thapelo Tumelo Kekana, Tshepiso Maluleke (both of Soshanguve), Florence Walusimbi, and her Ugandan husband Umala Mike Walusimbi, 41, (both of Eersterust) pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiring to murder Moon's partner.

They also pleaded not guilty to charges of breaking into Botha's house and murdering her as well as stealing a black Mercedes Benz.

The 35-year-old Botha, who worked as a matron at the Moot Hospital in Pretoria, was eight months pregnant with her and Moon's second son when she was found bludgeoned to death in her bed.

The State alleges Moon had a secret love affair with another woman and had asked Florence Walusimbi's help to kill his wife.

Walusimbi in turn allegedly informed her husband about Moon's plans and he enlisted the services of Kekana and Maluleke.

The three of them then allegedly broke into Botha's home and bludgeoned her to death with a brick.

The car was later discovered in Soshanguve.

Fingerprints lifted from the car led police to Kekana, who in turn allegedly pointed the finger at Maluleke and Florence Walusimbi as being involved.

The trial continues. - Sapa