Durban — The State by the end of Friday (today) was expected to have handed over outstanding statements to the legal representative of the man charged with the murder of a South African Navy veteran whose body was found six months after he was killed.
Ken Price, 74, who lived alone in Malvern was killed in November 2021. He was reported missing by his family in December 2021, and police investigations led to the recovery of his decomposing body in Richards Bay in May of the following year.
The pensioner’s neighbour, Julio Nobrega, and Nobrega’s employee, Nathan Padayachee, were charged with his murder.
However, Nobrega now is to stand trial alone after it emerged in court in November that Padayachee had died in August.
Nobrega’s pre-trial conference was delayed after he changed lawyers. He was previously represented by J Botha, who withdrew as his legal representative.
Botha’s withdrawal came as the matter was in the process of a pre-trial, which was not completed.
When the matter was last in court in January it was adjourned to Thursday for his new lawyer, Ben Dlamini, to be supplied with statement copies from the docket.
On Thursday it had been expected that the pre-trial conference would get under way in the Durban High Court. However, State prosecutor advocate Thabani Buthelezi told the court that the defence had indicated that it was not ready to proceed to the pre-trial.
He explained that while statement copies had been provided to Dlamini, the lawyer had raised an issue with the discoveries (the statements) given to him.
“He has noticed that some statements are outstanding and therefore he is not ready to proceed with pre-trial. We have arranged a date in April for the pre-trial. The outstanding statements will be provided to him by tomorrow (Friday),” said Buthelezi.
The summary of facts in the matter is that Nobrega had a panel-beating business that he was running from his home, and it’s alleged that for some time before Price’s murder Nobrega had suspected the pensioner of reporting his panel-beating activities to the authorities.
Furthermore, in November 2021, Price had invited Nobrega to his home for a braai. Nobrega arrived with Padayachee as well as his other employees.
Price became intoxicated at the braai and the accused helped him inside his house, following which they went back to Nobrega’s house.
There, it is alleged, they decided and conspired to rob and kill the pensioner.
It’s alleged that Nobrega handed Padayachee a hammer with which to kill Price.
Nobrega is currently out on R5000 bail which was granted to him in 2022 when the matter was still in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
The alleged motive for the murder was that Price often “checked on activities” at Nobrega’s yard, where Nobrega, a motor mechanic, was working from his home and would phone the police to report this.
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