Cape Town - After allegedly strangling gay night club owner Bruno Bronn, one of the alleged killers sped away from his victim’s home in his luxury car, the Western Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.
Kurt Erispe, a suspect turned State witness, told the court he had been on duty on the night in question, as an inspector for a security company owned by his mother.
However, instead of patrolling and visiting sites to ensure guards were not sleeping on duty, he had played taxi to the men accused of the Bronn murder.
The men, Frederick Willem John Coetzer, Fareez Allie and Achmat Toffa, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of pre-meditated murder, and robbery with aggravating circumstances, before Judge President John Hlophe and assessor Jaco van Reenen, a retired chief magistrate.
They allegedly strangled Bronn at his Sea Point home in Cape Town on the night of Monday February 6, 2012.
Erispe told the court Toffa was a friend, but that Coetzer and Allie were mere acquaintances. He said he had not known Bronn, or that he owned the gay night club The Bronx, but he was aware Coetzer had been a bouncer at the club.
On the night of the murder, his mother had asked him to stand in for an inspector who had not arrived for work, and he had to fetch another guard who had no transport.
That night, instead of doing his patrol in the Clifton and Sea Point areas, he visited Toffa at his flat at Elbow Gardens, in the suburb of Brooklyn.
While he and Toffa spoke, Toffa received a telephone call, and Toffa asked Erispe to give Coetzer a lift from Goodwood, in Cape Town’s northern suburbs, to Sea Point.
Erispe did so, and Toffa accompanied him in the company car. Erispe said Coetzer wanted to go to an address in High Level Road, Sea Point, where Bronn lived. Erispe said he dropped Coetzer near the address about 11pm that night, and returned with Toffa to his apartment.
On the way back to Brooklyn, Toffa asked Erispe to fetch Allie, and they returned to Sea Point to fetch Coetzer.
When they were near the address in Sea Point, Toffa called Coetzer, and said Coetzer wanted them all to enter Bronn's home.
Erispe told the court: “I didn’t want to go into the house, and Toffa and Allie went in without me. About 10 minutes later, I looked up to see a BMW car speeding away.”
The BMW belonged to Bronn.
Erispe, Allie and Toffa returned to Toffa’s flat, and Coetzer arrived soon afterwards carrying two bags, allegedly stolen from Bronn. Coetzer said he wanted to exchange the contents of the bags for drugs, Erispe told the court.
The case continues.
Sapa