Durban - THE first police officer at the scene of the murders of Phoenix mom Jane Govindasamy and her two daughters told the Durban High Court on Wednesday that he was immediately suspicious of Colin Pillay, the man charged with the crimes, from the first time he interviewed him.
Pillay, who admitted at the start
of the trial that he was having an
affair with Govindasamy, pleaded
not guilty to three counts of murder and theft of three cellphones
and R1800 from the womens’ home.
The bodies of Jane, 45, and daughters Denisha, 22, and Nikita, 16, were found in their Longcroft, Phoenix, home in September 2018.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Fazal Rajak told the court he established that Govindasamy had had an affair with a man nicknamed “Numbers”, a tow truck driver he knew well.
While at the scene, Pillay arrived in a tow truck.
“When I spoke to him, I noticed that he had an injury on his left cheek. It was a scratch that was evident. I also noticed that he had a plaster on his left middle finger. I enquired as to how he injured himself and his explanation was that the big hook at the back of the tow truck slipped and hit him.
“I became more suspicious because I could not believe that a big hook used to lift cars would cause such a minor scratch. I asked him if he knew Jane and he said he was close to the entire family. I also asked him if he knew what had happened at the flat, but what struck me was that he did not show any emotion and worry about what had happened. If someone I know had been killed like that, I would show signs of emotion,” said Rajak.
He said due to his suspicions, he left the scene and went looking for more evidence.
Rajak went to a gambling spot close to the Govindasamy home and confirmed from CCTV footage that Pillay was at the place at about 9pm the night of the murders.
He also established that Pillay was at Extreme Car Wash, a kilometre away, at 1am.
“I then realised that he had something to answer to.”