Port Elizabeth – The third accused in the Jayde Panayiotou murder case told the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that he was assaulted in police custody.
The allegation was made when Sizwesakhe Vumazonke, 30, appeared on charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and conspiracy to commit murder.
Vumazonke was arrested on Sunday in New Brighton Port Elizabeth.
Vumazonke appeared before Magistrate Jan van der Westhuizen in court on Tuesday morning with bruises on the right side of his face.
When asked by the magistrate what happened to his face, Vumazonke claimed to have been assaulted by police.
His case was postponed to June 19, the same day Jayde’s husband, Christopher, is also set to appear on charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and conspiracy to commit murder.
Christopher, 28, will remain in custody until his next appearance.
Police sources indicated that they closed in on the husband after he allegedly made contact with a bouncer at an Algoa Park pub, over extra money that needed to be paid for the alleged hit on his wife.
Christopher was arrested last week amid a media frenzy around his identity. This followed the earlier arrest of Luthando Siyoli, 31, in connection with the killing which shocked the city late last month.
Siyoli appeared in court last week and will be back again on Thursday.
The body of Panayiotou, 29, a popular Riebeek College Girls' High School school teacher, was found on a farm in Rocklands near Uitenhage on 22 April. She had been shot in the head and upper body.
ANA and IOL