Mogamat Armien Salie meticulously planned to rob and murder a Claremont woman - down to what he would steal from her, the court heard.
|||Cape Town - Mogamat Armien Salie meticulously planned to rob and murder a Claremont woman - down to what he would steal from her, the Western Cape High Court has heard.
“Why did he go to the scene with a knife? Why did he wear gloves? Why did he take the property of someone who knows him?”
These were among the questions prosecutor Evadne Kortje put to the court on Thursday in closing arguments.
There were gaps in the story about what took place at the home of Anzunette du Plessis on October 4 and many of the questions would remain unanswered, she said. This was because Salie had not taken the witness stand.
The State contends that the murder was premeditated - but Salie’s defence counsel, Ken Klopper, said there was no direct evidence of planning or premeditation.
Du Plessis was stabbed and her throat slit while the nanny was out taking her daughter, now three years old, for a walk.
Her fiancé was at work and her colleague, who worked with her on the property, had not come in because of car trouble.
Kortje told the court Salie had “meticulously” planned which items he would take from the house.
He and his father had previously carried out maintenance work and alterations at the house.
The house was not messy, Kortje said. The cupboards were not untidy, as if someone had been looking for items.
“He shopped with his eyes beforehand,” said Kortje.
No fingerprints had been found, which indicated that he had worn gloves.
Salie had also come to the house with a knife, she alleged, and had had “full intention of using it”.
“It was thought out by the accused beforehand. Why go to the scene when the nanny went to the park and leave before she got back? With all due respect, that was done to perfection,” she said.
Klopper, however, said that Salie had admitted to killing Du Plessis “in a brutal way”.
The only aspect that remained to be decided was the issue of premeditation, which he described as a “degree of murder”.
In arguing that the murder hadn’t been planned, Klopper said it had been carried out in an “inept” manner. It had been “messy” and Salie’s clothes were full of blood.
He had taken several items, which he’d had to transport in a bin, and later a trolley. This was asking to be stopped by the police - just as Salie had been.
Another point of contention was Salie’s reason for going to Du Plessis’s house. In his confession he said he had gone to check the roof, which he and his father had fixed. In his plea explanation, he said he’d gone because Du Plessis owed him money for extra work done.
Judgment is to be handed down on June 10.
leila.samodien@inl.co.za
Cape Times