Murder trial of EC farmer continues-Lynn Williams

It is up to a Kariega Magistrate to decide whether certain evidence in the murder trial against the wife of an Eastern Cape farmer will be admissible in court.

Natasha Van Eck has been charged with the November 2022 murder of her husband Gideon, at the couple’s Bakenkop farm just outside of Kariega.

Van Eck alleges that she shot her husband in self-defence.

During a previous court appearance, defence attorney George Malgas brought an interlocutory application before the court, in a bid to prevent the state from presenting certain evidence against his client in court.

The evidence pertains to Whatsapp messages that the deceased had sent to his sister, a few months before his death.

Malgas argued that admitting the evidence would amount to hearsay and that the deceased could not give context to the content.

When Van Eck appeared in court in October last year, she agreed to hand over her cell phone to the police for them to conduct an investigation.

The State said the deceased’s daughter, however, was still in possession of her father’s cell phone and did not cooperate with police in handing it over.

The court heard that a Section 205 Order would need to be obtained and that once granted it will ensure the availability of evidence as it pertains to criminal proceedings.

Van Eck, out on warning, was not present in court when the matter was postponed on Monday.

The court will make its ruling on the interlocutory application on Wednesday.

source:Murder trial of EC farmer continues (algoafm.co.za)