The trial of Fred van der Vyver in the Inge Lotz murder has me and a many others absolutely riveted. It has become quite the source of entertainment.
Now the murder itself is absolutely abhorrent and I sincerely hope that the murderer gets his just rewards, but I am beginning to wonder if this will indeed happen!
Did Fred van der Vyver do it? This is the six million dollar question! Things do not seem as cut and dry as the cops first made out when he got arrested. Is this because of shoddy police work, excellent lawyering, the wrong man being accused or something else?
When van der Vyver was arrested, it was because the police found his fingerprints at the crime scene. Now were they planted by the cops, were they there all along or are they indeed the fingerprints of the guilty man? It seems as though the lawyers claims that it was not taken from the DVD could be true. There is reasonable doubt there. The state cannot prove for sure that the fingerprint came from the DVD. It sounds like shoddy police work to me!
What about the alibi? van der Vyver claims that he was working when the murder took place. This has been verified by his boss. Case closed? Not really. It seems as though Shahana Toefy, Van der Vyver’s immediate boss at Old Mutual, would be called as a defence witness in support of Van der Vyver’s alibi. But the police director has said that Toefy was “unpleasant” when he spoke to them. Is this evidence of a conspiracy between Toefy and van der Vyver? Not at all. If Toefy was unpleasant, he may have reasons for this. The police may have consistantly told him that he was lying which pissed him off. I know I would be!
Earlier we heard from the police psychologist who had said that the murder was probably one committed by a partner. Sounds fine … until we hear that he was given a whole stack of info and evidence beforehand. The letter requesting his help from the Director of Public Prosecutions, asked him to analyse the murder scene, gave extensive background information on the case and on Van der Vyver, copies of SMSes between the couple, and statements by witnesses. It also said Van der Vyver had arranged for a friend to check up on Lotz as she was not answering her phone. (It was later proved that a friend had made the calland not van der Vyver!).
The case weaves in and out with surprising twists and turns. There is the secret love affair between Marius Botha and Inge Lotz, the secret video tape from Old Mutual security which proves van der Vyver was there at 3:30pm – after the murder had been committed. There is also the computer analysis which proved that he did not use his computer between 1:11pm and 5:13pm on that day. When did he purchase the cupboard from the furniture shop? He says 10:15am, the ex-salesman says after lunch.
Of course the crucial things are the hammer and paring knife found in van der Vyver’s car. Did they cause the fatal injuries?
Police lied in a report on key evidence in the Inge Lotz murder case, according to an internationally-acclaimed forensic expert.
“I am both shocked and amazed of [sic] how many lies are contained in that report,” the expert, Bill Bodziak, said in an email sent to the leader of the defence team, advocate Dup de Bruyn.
Is this true? Are the cops lying to ‘get their man’? Well it has happened in SA many times before. So I guess it could be true!
Whether or not van der Vyver is guilty or not is not up to me to decide. I am just fascinated by the trial which kind of echoes the popularity of the OJ Simpson trial in the US. I find the case intriguing and I am very eager to see how the courts handle the verdict. Is it just an excellent defense bought by money that the average South African couldn’t afford? You decide!
Tags: Inge Lotz Murder by James
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