Swellendam - Johannes Kana has been formally charged with the rape and murder of Anene Booysen.
Kana’s trial began on Monday morning at the Swellendam Circuit Court, eight months after the rape and murder of Anene, 17, at a building site in Bredasdorp in February.
On Monday the State called the first of its 52 witnesses, security guard Eben Merts, in a trial that is expected to last a month.
Merts told the court he had been doing his rounds at the construction site when he had heard a scream and found someone lying between two houses.
In his plea Kana, 21, admitted to leaving a Bredasdorp pub with Anene and later kicking her and hitting her with his fists. He then raped her, but has denied killing her.
The State rejected his guilty plea because it would have implied a lesser sentence.
It is the State’s case that on February 1 Kana raped Anene near Kleinbegin in Bredasdorp and used his hand or an object to disembowel her. Two other suspects were released.
The trial continues.
Cape Argus