Johannesburg - A young woman recounted on Monday how her friend jumped to her death from a moving vehicle in a bid to escape the so-called “Sunday Rapist”.
“She let go of my hand and jumped out of the bakkie,” the 18-year-old told the High Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court in Alberton, on Monday.
The fleeing teenager Lazanne Farmer did not survive jumping from the vehicle.
Her friend, who was 16-years-old at the time, was testifying in the trial of Johannes Jacobus Steyn, accused of murdering schoolgirls Louise de Waal and Farmer.
She gave evidence in camera.
“I wanted to jump out with Lazanne, but then he grabbed me and closed the door,” said the young woman.
“I thought she was going to get help. I though she might have gotten hurt.”
The two girls were kidnapped on September 5, 2010 in Pretoria.
The 18-year-old testified on how her disguised kidnapper did not slow down when Farmer leapt from the car.
“He said he thought we were going to have a threesome.”
He drove her to a remote location and raped her. She explained how semen fell on the back of her t-shirt.
The man used a pocket knife to cut off that part of her shirt and blindfold her with it. This was later handed in as evidence.
“We drove to another place. He told me to get out. Take ten steps and count to ten. Then he sped off.”
She ran to a nearby garage and was picked up by a couple who took her home. Her kidnapper kept her sandals and her bra.
Earlier, another alleged victim, a 16-year-old, also testified on how she was kidnapped, blindfolded, and sexually assaulted.
One other victim would testify on Monday.
Steyn is also charged on 11 counts of rape, 10 of sexual assault, 10 of kidnapping, one of attempted sexual assault, one of attempted kidnapping, and two of assault.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
When asked why he always brought a Bible into court with him, Steyn said: “It gives me courage”.
He said his brother gave him the Bible in 2007. Steyn said Psalm 43, especially, gave him courage.
He kept a bookmark with pictures of his wife and child on that page.
Relatives of Farmer were in court on Monday, and members of the family cried during the 16-year-old's testimony.
On Friday, an 11-year-old girl told the court, also in camera, that she was walking home from a shop to her house on October 31, 2010, when she was attacked.
Her kidnapper, disguised in sunglasses, a cap and a wig, drove her to a veld where he cut off her shirt with a pocket knife and molested her.
The girl testified in detail about the sexual assault.
The 11 girls Steyn allegedly attacked between 2008 and 2011 were aged between 11 and 18. - Sapa