A cellphone location has placed a murder-accused at George Lea Park in Sandton on the morning Kirsten Kluyts was raped and murdered.
According to evidence presented by the State in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, the murder-accused was at the location in Sandton at 7.35am on October 29, 2023.
The evidence was revealed on Tuesday at the bail application of the 21-year-old student accused of killing the Sandton teacher.
This evidence contradicts the accused’s version of events where he claims he only arrived at the scene after 9am.
Kluyts, 34, a teacher at Delta Park High, was found murdered at the George Lea Recreational Park in Parkmore, Sandton, on October 29.
She had participated in an athletic event on the day of her murder, but failed to finish the walk.
It was also revealed in court that she was 14-weeks pregnant at the time of her murder.
The State presented a picture of Kluyts, which was taken at 8.05am which was the time she arrived to participate in the event.
CCTV footage captured on that day also shows the accused entering the park dressed in a black T-shirt and pants.
He was seen moving approximately 100 metres behind Kluyts.
However, he denied stalking Kluyts. Instead, he said the CCTV footage of him was taken at a different time and not the same time when Kluyts was photographed.
The murder-accused, who took the stand to argue for his release on bail, denied involvement in her murder.
In his evidence, he said he saw a woman lying near a path with the intention of offering to help her, and when he realised that she was dead, he took her clothes off because he had touched her and did not want his fingerprints or DNA to link him to the crime.
He said his only crime was stealing her clothes and wearing her T-shirt. He later discarded her clothes in a drain.
When asked by the State why he didn’t call the SAPS anonymously, the accused said: “I didn’t want to be involved with police,” adding that he was unfamiliar with the procedure.
“What if they ask me to come to the police station?”
He also told the court that five days after seeing Kluyt's body, he had told the caretaker, his father, and his girlfriend.
He said he should rather be facing charges of theft and defeating the ends of justice.
“It doesn’t make sense why you guys don't want to give me bail because after the crime was committed, I was still in Parkmore for four weeks up until you got me on the 26th. If I wanted to run, I would have ...”
The Varsity College student was arrested on November 26.
He cannot be named because he faces a charge of rape and can only be named once he pleads at the start of the trial.
He has been charged with rape, premeditated murder, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The bail hearing continues on Wednesday.
IOL