Cape lecturer's 'advances' motivated killing

Published Nov 30, 2005

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The man accused of brutally murdering popular Cape Technikon lecturer Albert Lintvelt, 63, has admitted fatally attacking him with a hammer and knives.

But Lintvelt's gardener Charles Jonathon, 23, claims he was provoked into the attack by Lintvelt's alleged homosexual advances.

A retired architect, Lintvelt was found stuffed in a wooden kist by neighbours in his ransacked Simon's Town cottage in March last year.

Jonathon's version of Lintvelt's killing was put forward by his advocate Nehemiah Ballem during his cross-examination of pathologist Denise Louwrens, who suggested the wounds on Lintvelt's body did not correspond with those typically found on the victims of homophobia-motivated killings. Louwrens said research suggested such victims were often mutilated on their genitals, which was not the case with Lintvelt.

Describing Jonathon's version of what happened on the night that Lintvelt was killed, Ballem said Jonathon and Lintvelt had been watching movies in Lintvelt's bedroom when Lintvelt "grabbed (Jonathon's) private parts".

Jonathon became "furious", grabbed a hammer and hit Lintvelt over the head.

When Lintvelt fell, Jonathon stabbed him, Ballem said.

Jonathon has yet to explain why, if the attack took place in the bedroom as he claimed, Lintvelt's blood was found in his lounge.

Louwrens testified the severe head injuries that were inflicted on Lintvelt would have killed him "within hours".

The stab wounds Lintvelt had sustained had led to "substantial" blood loss and would probably have killed him in minutes.

The State alleges Johnson murdered Lintvelt to steal his car.

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