Anika’s inquest: witness breaks down
Visibly distressed, another witness testified in the inquest into the death of a 17-year-old schoolgirl.
|||Pretoria - Visibly distressed, another witness testified on Wednesday in the inquest into the death of a 17-year-old schoolgirl, found dead in her father’s Pretoria North house.
The woman, who cannot be named after the court ordered the media to protect the identities of the witnesses, cried and said she could not testify as she was too stressed.
“I didn’t even know the person. I saw her a few times at school, but I didn’t know her,” she said.
The inquest follows Anika Smit’s murder. Her body was mutilated and both her hands chopped off. The hands are yet to be found. The inquest aims to find out who was behind the murder and to determine what happened to Smit’s hands. She did not go to school on the day of her murder as she had an ear infection.
The woman, who can only be identified as “Penguin”, a name she used on the messaging app Mxit, was questioned about her fiancé.
It was suggested he had been part of an occult movement during the time of Smit’s murder.
Messages of satanic rituals between “Vampire” and a user called “Satan Eyes” were found on “Vampire’s” phone and used as exhibits during the inquest.
“Vampire’s” occult activities have been a recurring theme since Tuesday, after a book of spells was apparently found in “Vampire’s” house. His mother denied having any knowledge of her son participating in devil worshipping during her time on the stand.
The court also heard “Vampire” traded in snakes and was a sword enthusiast, owning a collection.
His twin also denied devil worshipping activities and grew agitated when peppered with questions by Nico Venter’s attorney. Venter was initially arrested for the murder, but the charges were withdrawn owing to lack of evidence.
“Vampire’s” mother, his fiancée “Penguin”, and his twin sister were all shown pictures on his phone of a man whose face on one side was covered with blood, and another of the same man with two swords in his hands. All three said they could not identify the man.
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Pretoria News