The murder trial of an elderly Ottery couple who were strangled to death in their home will resume in August after the man accused of killing them was found.
Police say Gcinile Ngcobelothe, who worked as gardener for Rugaya and Riedewaan Addinall, has been traced to Goodwood Prison after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a friend in Kuils River.
Ngcobelothe and his friend Lwazi Ntsibantsiba were arrested after the elderly couple, both aged 82, were found murdered in their Sandown Road home on 5 January 2019 while some of their possessions were loaded in their Mercedes-Benz, which was still parked outside.
Shortly after the murders, cops arrested the duo from Delft and they were charged with two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated robbery.
According to the indictment, Ngcobelothe had allegedly taken his friend to the house of the couple and had planned to rob them.
It states that the duo tied ligatures around the necks of the pensioners and force-fed Rugaya rat poison.
The cause of death was manual strangulation and the indictment further says they packed various valuables in the couple’s car to steal but the car would not start.
The trial commenced earlier this year when Ngcobelothe’s attorney, Advocate Mohamed Sibda, told the court that his client denied killing the couple
He claimed his fingerprints were found on their car as he had washed it a day before they were murdered.
The trial was set to resume last week but stalled after Ngcobelothe, who is out on R800 bail, failed to pitch at court and Acting Judge Bryan Hack ruled that an application into the forfeiture of his bail be heard on 21 June and that the trial put on hold until there is an outcome.
Proceedings resumed on Tuesday when it was revealed that Ngcobelothe had been nabbed the weekend before his appearance and had appeared in the Kuils River Magistrates’ Court where his bail application was denied and he was sent to the mang.
A toxicology report conducted on Rugaya was also handed in at court and confirmed that she was forced to swallow Rattex before she was murdered.
The trial will now resume on 2 August where the state is expected to continue their case.
monique.duval@inl.co.za