A man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl has had his case moved to the Western Cape High Court.
|||Cape Town - A man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl appeared in the Blue Downs District Court on Monday afternoon.
Johannes Christiaan de Jager, 48, wearing a blue fleece top and jeans, was told his case was being transferred to the Western Cape High Court.
He applied for legal aid because he could no longer pay his lawyer.
His case was postponed until September 13, for a pre-trial conference in the high court. His trial was set down for October 7 to 31.
De Jager allegedly murdered 16-year-old Charmaine Mare in January, while staying at her home in Kraaifontein, in Cape Town's northern suburbs. At the time Mare's mother and other family members were away on a sea cruise.
He also allegedly raped and murdered a prostitute, Hiltina Alexander, in May 2008.
De Jager faces charges of murder, aggravated robbery, defeating the ends of justice, dismembering a corpse, and fraud.
He allegedly buried Mare's partially-burned torso in open ground in Kraaifontein, and hid her arms and legs in a carton in the garage of her home. He then allegedly falsely reported her missing to police.
De Jager had already appeared in the Atlantis District Court for Alexander's murder. The two cases have been combined.
The court heard on Monday that De Jager had a list of defence witnesses he intended calling. This list would be forwarded to his advocate for subpoena purposes.
Sapa