Cameron Wilson claims he was assaulted, threatened and forced to sign a statement which implicates him for the murder of 16-year-old Stacey-Lee Mohale and the attempted murder of her friend Abigail Plaatjies.
Wilson, 20, took the stand at the Western Cape High Court yesterday where he is being tried on 15 charges including six counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, rape and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Stacey-Lee was raped, assaulted, stabbed and set alight with a tyre on a soccer field in Heinz Park on 24 April 2015.
And last month Abigail testified that she was stabbed, assaulted and had bricks thrown on her head when Wilson and his accomplice allegedly returned to check if the girls were dead.
On the stand, dressed in a blue denim shirt, blue jeans and Air Jordan takkies, Wilson appeared calm.
Wilson claims when he was arrested on 28 April 2015, he did not know the charges against him and was forced to sign forms after he got warm geklap.
“I was taken to Nyanga Police Station just past nine in the morning by two detectives. It was the first time in my life I got arrested,” he testified.
“When we got to the station, a detective came up to me asking me, ‘waar is die guns?’ because hulle het gesê ek gee die jong laaities guns.
“I was then taken into the reception area (charge office). A police officer in uniform came up to me and smacked me, saying if I don’t talk then I’m going to get 200 years (in jail).”
Wilson says he was then told to sign a form which contained the word “murder” and he did so because he was scared.
“I was then told to sign a form with my name on and it said murder at the top. I signed because I was scared,” he testified.
“After 20 minutes when I was in the holding cells, I was taken out and smacked again by a detective. I don’t know why I was smacked.
“He then started threatening me. He said as ek nie gaan praat nie, gaan hy my mense vrek skiet, and then he said if I don’t sign, gaan hy my vrek skiet as ek uit gaan.
“Nobody told me why I was there. No one explained to me what I was signing or read me my rights.”
When asked whether he told anyone about the alleged assault, Wilson stated that his lawyer at the time did not come to see him, but he told his mother.
“No, I didn’t tell my lawyers because they never came to see me. I told my mother when she came to see me in Pollsmoor,” Wilson added.
The trial resumes today.