Cape Town – Defence attorney Eric Breyer explained the timeline leading to the arrest of the accused in the murder of anti-gang unit detective Charl Kinnear.
The suspect, Zane Killian, 39, appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful interception of communication.
Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said Kinnear was gunned down outside his home in Bishop Lavis last Friday, after police protection was stopped in December.
“It is alleged that Kinnear had just arrived home when the suspect approached his car and opened fire on him at close range,” he said.
Kinnear’s wife, Nicolette, said the family had lived in fear that those targeting her husband would use her or the children to get to him.
“I think that now that he is gone, the boys and I should be fine,” she said.
Their eldest son, Carlisle Kinnear, said: “My last conversation with him was 30 seconds before he was shot. He phoned me to pull my car out of the driveway, he was standing there waiting for me,” he said.
Kinnear’s house has three visible cameras mounted on the wall with two of them facing in the direction of the place his car was parked at the time of the shooting.
Breyer explained the timeline and circumstances leading up to Killian’s arrest.
“They went to his house on Monday night, they took him in, and they questioned him in the Hawks offices in Germiston.
“They took him to Midrand police station on Monday, where he spent the night. On Tuesday, he was in Midrand cells until about 3pm, and brought him here (Cape Town) … he arrived on Wednesday morning.
“He was charged late Thursday afternoon, and yesterday the communications varied. We were told (initially) that he hadn’t been charged, we were trying to roll it over to Monday.
“Somehow they changed their minds, and let us know yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, that he had been charged, and he was appearing in court today.”
“The questioning session in my presence was about three hours on the Monday or Tuesday night – sorry, I can’t remember. We stopped just after midnight.
“Apparently they started questioning him here (in Cape Town) yesterday, but then I gave an instruction, no questions to be answered without his legal representation there.
Mulaudzi added that “details surrounding the murder are still unknown”.
“More arrests are not ruled out as investigations are still under way.”
Cape Argus