Cape Town - A former taxi boss claims a woman accused of killing and then burying her aunt and cousin in their own backyard had asked him how much it would cost to have a murder committed.
Levonna Jacobs, 38, of Eerste River is currently on trial at the Western Cape High Court for the murders of her aunt Virna Jacobs, 47, and her cousin Rowena Jacobs, 26.
Prosecutors are set to prove Jacobs killed Virna and Rowena so she could take ownership of the home of her uncle, Donovan Jacobs, in Seringa Avenue, Delft-South.
Donovan was murdered in March 2015 during an argument over a burger with a tenant.
It is alleged Jacobs strangled the women to death and buried their bodies in the backyard, which she later had covered with cement.
She then allegedly told family members the mother and daughter had left the Western Cape for work opportunities, despite Rowena having two minor children, which she “left behind”.
Deborah Donson testified at the trial of her daughter, Levona Jacobs, who is accused of murdering and burying two people in her back yard. Picture: Tracey Adams / ANA
The women were missing for four months before relatives became suspicious and eventually dug up the bodies themselves in December 2015.
Taking the stand on Monday in her daughter’s defence Deborah Donson testified how Jacobs brought Rowena’s children, a girl and a boy, to their home during November 2015.
She said Virna previously told her that Rowena was going to work on a farm.
She said Jacobs claimed Rowena’s little girl had received threats at school because Rowena didn’t pay her debt to loan sharks.
Next, a former Goodwood taxi boss, who cannot be identified, claimed Jacobs asked him how to get ownership of her uncle’s house, and how much it would cost to take out a murder contract.
Rowena Jacobs, 26, was believed to have been 'strangled to death'. Picture: Supplied
He said Jacobs, who is a building contractor, fixed his gate and also did plumbing at his house.
Jacobs allegedly borrowed R3 800 from him and his cousin which she said she needed for her uncle’s
funeral.
“She told me her uncle had been killed over a dispute over a burger. She asked me how does she get ownership of the house which belonged to her uncle and said that the uncle’s girlfriend was staying in the house after the death,” he testified.
“I told her to just move in but later she said that the girlfriend is actually the wife."
“I told her if they are married in community of property, there is nothing she can do.”
Virna Jacobs, 47, was strangled and buried. Picture: Daily Voice
He says she asked him about a contract killer at a later date, which shocked him.
“Then on a Friday, while she and another person was welding my gate which leads to my pool, she asked me ‘what will it cost to do a murder?’” he said.
“I told her that my wife and I will be viewing a house in Bellville and when we come back, she must be gone.
“I mean, I didn’t want to be associated with stuff like that. You cannot kill a person over a house.”
The case continues.