Durban - Colin Pillay, who is accused of killing his lover and her daughters, pleaded with police at the crime scene to find the person who murdered his “stekkie” (girlfriend), the Durban High Court heard yesterday.
Warrant Officer Praveen Sukdeo told the court he was at the scene where the bodies of Phoenix mother Jane Govindasamy and her daughters, Denisha and Nikita, were discovered in September last year.
“He said to me, ‘Please find the person who murdered my stekkie and her daughters’,” said Sukdeo.
Pillay, 46, has admitted in court that he was having an affair with Govindasamy.
He pleaded not guilty to the
murders, the theft of three cellphones and R1800 from Govindasamy’s home.
Sukdeo said Pillay had shown no emotion when he spoke to him at the scene, and he had become suspicious of scratches on his face and neck, and an injury to his finger.
Sukdeo said he did not believe Pillay’s story that he was injured while repairing a gearbox.
The policeman suggested that Pillay see the doctor at the scene to confirm whether he was injured while fixing a gearbox.
He said he had earlier seized Pillay’s cellphone for further investigation.
Sukdeo said he then went into the house and requested that Govindasamy’s husband, Sagren, hand him the clothes he was wearing and his cellphone for further investigation.
The clothes, including his shoes, belt and underwear, were placed in a plastic bag.
“I requested the clothing and the cellphone because in an investigation of this nature, anyone is a suspect,” he said.
Sukdeo said Pillay had promised to wait for him to see the doctor, but when he emerged from the house, he was nowhere to be found.
Under cross-examination, defence attorney Amanda Hulley asked Sukdeo if he was sure of what he had seen on Pillay’s finger, because according to the evidence by Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Fazal Rajak, Pillay had had a plaster on it.
Sukdeo, however, said he was sure of what he had seen. “I am sure that I saw an injury on his finger. He did not have a plaster on. I cannot comment about what evidence Lieutenant-Colonel Rajak saw,” he said.
Hulley said Pillay would testify that he had no injuries or scratches on his face when he was at the scene, and had a plaster on his finger.
He would also say the injuries depicted in the photos were caused when the police assaulted him during his arrest, said Hulley.
CCTV footage, obtained from a boutique 100m away from the
Govindasamy home, was played in court last week, showing Pillay wiping and discarding a silver object at the roadside.
Police later recovered a knife from the spot. The trial continues.