Cape Town -The Western Cape High Court on Tuesday heard that State witness Amy Starkey, had introduced the two accused in the Zarah Hector murder trial, mere days before Hector and her boyfriend’s car went missing.
Hector went missing on March 14, 2016 with her boyfriend’s BMW Z3. Her body was found in a shallow grave on a farm in Groot Drakenstein on March 24.
Hector was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer because she owed the accused drug money. Taufeeq Ebrahim from Malibu Village and Renaldo van Rooyen, 33, from Kuils River have been charged with Hector’s murder, defeating the ends of justice and robbery of a vehicle.
Starkey testified that she knew both accused and the deceased Hector.
“A friend was walking me home when a car pulled up next to me. Taufeeq was driving his mother’s car, a maroon Tata.
“He asked me if I knew somewhere he could relax because he had played his last money on a gambling machine.
“I told him I know somebody and that was Renaldo,” she testified.
She said that they then went to Van Rooyen’s house and the two appeared familiar with one another. “I asked Renaldo if Taufeeq could sleep there and he said yes,” said Starkey.