Cape Town - The man who was found to have orchestrated the murder of Olwyn Cowley in the “Gumtree murder” may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
Jason Elias would also need further counselling “by a good clinical psychologist”, said a social worker who interviewed him for 90 minutes.
Elias, Rameez Felix and Soegbudien Abvajee were convicted of murder in the Western Cape High Court on November 4, and are facing sentencing.
Abvajee shot Cowley in the head on August 30, 2012, during a test drive of the silver BMW325ti Cowley was trying to sell and which he had advertised on Gumtree. A day later his body was found in the bushes near Baden Powell Drive.
Judge Anton Veldhuizen found Elias and Abvajee guilty of murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Felix was found guilty on a charge of theft and possession of an unlicensed firearm, while Veldhuizen acquitted a fourth man, Shawaal Staggie, of all charges.
On Tuesday, Anne Cawood, a private practice social worker, told the court Elias had had a “pretty normal” schooling record, with “no undue adolescent acting out”, no incidents of violence and aggression, and no history of gang-related activity. He was “incredibly gifted” in IT.
Cawood said that while she was not qualified to diagnose post traumatic stress disorder, she believed that based on her 30 years of experience, he showed the symptoms and may have suffered from amnesia as he struggled to remember parts of what happened to him.
Judge Veldhuizen asked how she came to the conclusion that Elias was an “intelligent young man who unknowingly became embroiled in a crime”.
The judge said that during the trial he had found Elias to be a “liar” and an “extremely poor witness” who certainly did not take responsibility for his actions.
He had found that Elias was “the orchestrator” and that Cawood’s report seemed to be based on Elias’s word.
“But what if he was not being truthful?” he asked. Cawood said she stood by her report based on the information Elias and his father had given her, and the judgement she made.
“I write my report based on the evidence before me,” she said.
The matter is set to continue next Wednesday.
Cape Argus