Three supposed suicide notes tucked into the bra of a pregnant mother whose body was sprawled next to the car in which the lifeless bodies of her two young daughters lay on the back seat, were not enough to mislead the police.
Evans Mpanyane, 32, briefly appeared in the Pretoria North Regional Court on Thursday on three counts of murder. It is alleged that he strangled his wife, Cornelia, and daughters, Joy and Priscilla, aged 6 and 7 respectively, on December 16 on the Bynespoort Road near Kameeldrift.
Their bodies were found by a passer-by who alerted police. Police found three apparent suicide letters, alleged to have been written by the mother and addressed to a pastor, on her body.
Mpanyane was arrested shortly after the discovery of the bodies and confessed to the murders. He made his first appearance in court on December 19
The case was postponed on several occasions due to Mpanyane's lawyer not being present.
On January 3 he was denied bail by the court after investigating officer Raditshego Mashilo testified that she was opposed to bail because he admitted to the murder and deliberately took a piece of rope with him when he left with his family in the car. “There is no doubt it was premeditated,” she said.
On Thursday, Mpanyane's lawyer failed to make an appearance at court and the accused said he had “no idea” where his lawyer was.
The case was postponed to March 28. - Pretoria News