Durban - A VERULAM man allegedly used chocolate to lure a 7-year-old girl to his flat,
who he then raped and killed.
This was the State’s case against Laston Moodley, 26, when his trial got under way, in the Durban High Court on Monday.
Moodley is accused of raping Sithembile Amanda Mila, before stabbing her at his home in Hammonds Farm, Waterloo, in the Verulam area.
Emotions ran high in court on Monday, at the start of the trial, for which the community had waited months.
With clean-shaven head and face, Moodley was dressed in a crisp white shirt tucked inside his low-rise pants. He sat still and did not look at the packed gallery.
Close to 18 months after Amanda was killed, there was still anger among Waterloo residents against Moodley, who was once a part of their community in the block of flats shared by blacks and Indians.
The State alleges that Moodley had sent Amanda to a nearby tuck shop to buy him cigarettes on July 28, 2018.
When she returned, he allegedly lured her into his flat by promising her a chocolate, then once inside, he raped and stabbed her, leaving left her for dead between blocks of flats.
She later died of her injuries at Addington Hospital.
Shortly after Moodley pleaded not- guilty to charges of rape and murder, State advocate Krishen Shah told the court he would lead evidence, including DNA from blood splatters found in Moodley’s flat, and clothing Amanda wore the day of the murder, which was allegedly found in the flat.
Moodley, who stayed with his common-law wife and 9-year-old stepdaughter, was arrested later on the day of the incident, in his flat.
Thulani Mark Mzoneli testified yesterday that he was at home that day, watching a soccer match, when a teenager he knew as Mlungu told him about a child lying naked and injured outside.
He said he saw the child lying on the ground, naked and struggling to breathe.
“She was completely naked. She had an open wound on the side of her chest. She had another wound at the back as if something penetrated her from the front and exited at the back. She was also bleeding in her private parts, the neck and mouth,” said Mzoneli.
He said the girl’s sister was assisted to carry her home, before she was rushed to the hospital.
While waiting for the police to arrive, a neighbour said that other children had reported to her that they saw Moodley taking the girl out of his house.
“We then noticed that there was a blood stain on the door, which was almost the size of a hand. All the neighbours were gathered outside, but his door was locked, windows closed and the curtains drawn. The last time I saw him was in the morning and I never saw him again,” said Mzoneli.
He said they tried knocking on the door, but there was no response.
“The police had to break the door to gain entry. When the police came out of the house with him, he looked frightened; the community members wanted to assault him. He had some blood on his nose. I did not see whether it was an injury,” said Mzoneli.
Moodley’s legal representative, advocate Manoj Hardeo, asked Mzoneli why Mlungu came to his house to inform him about the incident, since the child was not found near his house.
He said he did not know why, but when he came out to investigate, other residents were also walking towards the scene.
Hardeo said Moodley would say that on the day of the incident, he came home at about 3.45pm and noticed his door handle was broken and there were people outside the open door.
“He came inside and saw blood on the floor. He entered and locked the door from inside, and phoned the police. He went upstairs and noticed all his shoes had been stolen. He will say that he and his common-law wife had a habit of placing shoes on the left and right sides of the stairs, and all the shoes on the right were missing,” Hardeo said.
The trial continues.