Johannesburg - An accused in the so-called Montecasino murder trial, JP Malan, turned the tables on his former flame on Wednesday, telling the court his girlfriend had caused her housemate Dustan Blom’s death.
He said his former stripper girlfriend Maruschka Robinson concealed the killing from him for more than 24 hours, before he helped hide the body.
Robinson and Malan are on trial in the High Court in Palm Ridge for defrauding, murdering and disposing of Blom’s body by abandoning him in the Montecasino parking area in Fourways in September 2013.
Last week, Robinson blamed Malan, claiming he had choked Blom using a wrestling move he had seen on television.
The pair have admitted to the court that they had spiked Blom’s drink on several occasions with a drug called GHB so they could steal his bank cards and cellphone to make large withdrawals.
They would then delete his banking notification SMSes to ensure their victim did not find out. Robinson said Malan suggested in the early hours of September 18, 2013 at Blom’s home using a sleeper-hold on Blom to ensure he remained unconscious. Blom died as a result of the choke hold.
Malan told the court that it was Robinson who had asked for a sleeping pill to give to Blom after the pair had been arguing over her R8 000 debt.
They allegedly waited several hours for Blom to fall asleep before Malan left the house to withdraw money from Blom’s account. Text messages between them indicated that Malan believed Blom was still alive.
Malan stopped at the guest house where he was staying, but experienced car trouble and could not leave to make the withdrawals.
Using a taxi, Malan picked up a friend to whom he sold drugs and asked him to withdraw money using Blom’s card. The PIN was incorrect and Malan and the friend returned to Blom’s home.
Malan said he and his friend went into Robinson’s room through a side entrance and Robinson gave them another PIN, but apparently said nothing about Blom’s death.
Robinson testified last week that Malan had been the one to accompany her downstairs after he had killed Blom.
But Malan denied it, saying he left the house and went home, and returned to the house only later.
Robinson told him that Blom had asked them to buy groceries. Malan agreed but also used Blom’s card to withdraw large amounts of cash at an Olivedale shopping centre.
Close to midnight, Robinson and Malan decided to visit Montecasino, where they made big withdrawals from the cashiers, flirted and gambled.
Malan insisted he still had no idea that Blom was dead, which was why nothing prevented him from enjoying himself. The former drug dealer said Robinson told him only after their visit to Montecasino that she believed Blom had died of a drug overdose. They then decided to get rid of the body.
Malan struggled to answer why, if Malan believed that Blom was only going to be unconscious because of the sleeping pill, he left the house for hours without returning.
“You weren’t worried (Blom would notice his missing cards upon waking up) because you already knew he was dead. That’s why you took your time,” Robinson’s lawyer Jesse Penton said.
Malan was also stumped as to why they were not in possession of Blom’s cellphone, meaning Blom would notice the banking transactions. “You would have been caught if he was alive,” Penton said.
The trial continues.
The Star