Kimberley -
The “cruel and cold-blooded murderer” who killed the Steenkamp family on a farm near Griquatown was kind-hearted towards the 17-year-old accused, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Wednesday as the prosecution wrapped up questioning the boy.
State Advocate Hannes Cloete said the attacker allowed the accused to change his T-shirt, move around the house freely, fetch the bakkie and drive to the police station unhindered.
Northern Cape High Court Judge President Frans Kgomo remarked that if the killer was so sympathetic towards the accused, it could create the impression that a hitman was hired to kill Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14, on April 6 2012.
Cloete stated that the accused’s knowledge of the finer details of the crime showed that he was present when the murders were committed.
“The cruel gunman who murdered three members of the Steenkamp family in cold blood allowed the accused to walk into the house, make contact with Marthella, change his clothes and walk back to the shed.”
Cloete believed that the accused lied about hearing the second volley of shots from inside the shed.
“This claim created its own set of problems because an attacker, who was still in the house, would not have allowed Marthella to try and call the police for help. Marthella would not have been alive when the accused entered the house. If it was true, she wouldn’t have been able to come into contact with him or tear his T-shirt.”
He stated that, based on the evidence at hand, there could not have been more than one attacker.
“A group of attackers would never have allowed Marthella to run into the house. The .357 revolver and .22 rifle would have been fired at the same time if there were more than one perpetrator. The accused also only pointed to one possible hiding place for only one attacker in Christel’s bedroom.”
He said that upon his arrival at the police station, the accused told everyone that he was certain that the family was dead.
“He knew that Deon was shot in his head, although he never checked the body. He knew that Deon had slipped off the couch. He was also aware that it was Marthella who tried to call for help on the landline after she was shot.”
He described the accused’s lies as “improbable, nonsensical and ludicrous”.
“The docket that was opened did not have a name written on it. Therefore the accused could not have known that he was being looked at as a suspect on the evening of the murders.”
Cloete stated that the accused had to fabricate a reason for the attack.
“He informed the police that money was stolen out of the safe. If this was true, the intruder would have had to remove the firearms from the safe, remove the cash from the bag, replace the bag and return the firearms to their original position. Yet R36 000 inside the small safe was left untouched.”
The accused also claimed that he used the murder weapons to shoot meerkats after DNA swabs and gun residue tests were performed on him.
Cloete reported that after such a tragedy, the accused went on with his life unhindered.
“Mere days after the murders were committed, the accused started making plans to sell the farms and to open up a petrol station with the proceeds.
“The accused fetched a horse from the farm three days after the murders so that he could enter a gymkhana competition two weeks later.”
The accused denied having any inside knowledge of the murders or that he was lying. He steadfastly claimed that someone else killed the Steenkamp family.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
* The defence closed its case on Wednesday.
* The prosecution and defence must submit written heads of argument before Tuesday (November 26).
* Final arguments in court on Wednesday (November 27).
* Judgment expected during the second week of December.
* Sentencing (if found guilty) expected early next year.
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