Durban - A close friend of three of the men accused of beating Brett Williams to death described them as coming from “great” families, raised well, and never left wanting as children.
They were, however, heavy drinkers and aggressive when drunk.
The friend, who declined to be named, said he had known two of the accused for more than 10 years, and the other for eight years. “They are not usually troublemakers, but they drank a lot,” he said.
The friend said he had once been on the receiving end of a confrontation with one of the accused after they had been drinking.
“He was dopped-up and slapped me through the face. I always kept it in the dark because we were good friends.”
He said the same friend had had run-ins with others in the past.
It was devastating to deal with the possibility of their having beaten a man to death.
“A sober person would not have done that,” he said.
Although he was not at Kings Park at the time of the incident, he said he had been told by several friends that the accused were drunk.
Witnesses who saw the attack on Williams described one of the accused as looking like a “bodybuilder”. The friend would not be drawn on whether the “bodybuilder” was taking steroids.
Besides the family, friends, and journalists who packed the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, some people interested in the case were also in the gallery.
Jeff Harper, a local rugby coach, said he had come to watch proceedings and see justice served.
“I have seen too much going on after rugby with drinking involved,” he said.
“Who threw the first punch is immaterial; the poor guy (Williams) gets murdered, and that’s offside.”
Harper said the public interest in the trial had also piqued his interest, so he had looked on Facebook for the court date and time.
Families of the five accused politely declined to speak to the media.
The Mercury