DURBAN - A DEPARTMENT of Correctional Services (DCS) inmate Marius Nagel, 30, has been accused of killing Leeuwkop prison warder Eunice Moloko, 50, last week.
Durban-born Nagel, who is already serving an 18-year jail sentence for murder, appeared on Wednesday in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg. The matter was postponed to August 26 in order for Nagel to get legal representation.
The department’s Singabakho Nxumalo said Nagel had a history of showing total disregard for women.
He was convicted of murder in 2015.
Moloko was strangled and her body was hidden in the toilet inside her office. Bloodstains were partially removed but her cellphone was not taken, arousing the family’s suspicions.
Her sister, Patricia Matlala, who also works in DCS Leeuwkop, said Moloko was “brutally killed”.
“They had enough time to even clean the blood on the office floor and the walls, but there were still traces of blood everywhere,” said Matlala.
Moloko’s family spokesperson, Reverend Peter Maruping said they welcomed the postponement because it gave them time to focus on the funeral.
Maruping said Moloko’s body was discovered after her husband, Tebogo, who also works at the prison, forced his way into the Medium A: Covid-19 isolation site.
Her body was discovered on the floor with her jacket covered with blood.
“Her husband had to break the window of the office to gain access. The office key could not be found because they locked her inside after killing her.”
Maruping said they received a call from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola. They are expected to attend the funeral on Saturday in Pretoria.
In 2015, Nagel was sentenced in the Port Shepstone to 18 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of Neil Rose Wilson and the murder of Ella Sophia Potgieter, known as Elsie.
At the time, Judge Trevor Gorven sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment for the murder of Potgieter who disappeared on November 13, 2014. Her body was found concealed on a beach on November 18.
In Nagel’s plea statement, he said that he had met Potgieter on the beach the previous day while he had been fishing.
“I was drinking while fishing on the beach when Ms Potgieter asked me to accompany her to pick up shells. We argued when I asked her to have sex with me,” his plea read.
“I dragged her into the nearby bush. I strangled her, she lost consciousness. As a result, she eventually died. I panicked. I took her clothes and hid her body in the bushes. I took her clothes and buried them in the beach sand. I was aware of what I was doing at all times,” he stated.
Daily News