Ex-husband: She was killed like a rabbit

902 A crime scene expert takes pictures of the scene on 7th street in Linden where 3 men tried to hijack a woman after a chase with the police that started in Robindale. 190208. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

902 A crime scene expert takes pictures of the scene on 7th street in Linden where 3 men tried to hijack a woman after a chase with the police that started in Robindale. 190208. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

Published Nov 24, 2011

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A Pretoria geologist told his ex-wife's family she was killed when she was hit on the back of the neck with one blow “like a rabbit”, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.

The brother of the murdered Cordelia Prinsloo, George Schoonraad, said he had found this statement by her ex-husband Cobus Prinsloo strange, although he knew Prinsloo was an experienced hunter.

Prinsloo has pleaded not guilty to his wife's murder.

His gardener Lucas Moloi was sentenced last week to 18 years' imprisonment after admitting that he killed Cordelia by hitting her twice on the back of the head with a shovel.

Prinsloo denied Moloi's claims that he offered him R50,000 and a house to murder his ex-wife.

Prinsloo's advocate has put it to Moloi that he had acted on his own out of anger about his wages and because he was reprimanded about his work.

Moloi, in cross-examination, admitted that his version in court differed considerably from his earlier statement to a magistrate.

Schoonraad testified that his sister phoned him on October 13

2009 after Prinsloo informed her that Cordelia was missing.

He was in Middelburg the next day when she phoned again and told him that Cordelia's body had been found and that she had been murdered.

Members of the family, including his elderly mother, then drove to Prinsloo's smallholding.

Prinsloo met them on their way in and told them the gardener had killed Cordelia, but that he would be caught soon.

He said he had contacted the gardener the previous day to ask why he had not arrived for work.

He informed the family that he had already arranged his ex-wife's funeral.

“My mother was very worried that Cordelia had suffered and might have screamed for help.

“Mr Prinsloo said she would not have suffered. She had been killed with one blow behind the neck like a rabbit and did not feel any pain,” he said.

Prinsloo told them he had not suspected anything untoward until his sons said their mother, an air hostess, had not sent them her usual message before she left.

That was why Prinsloo investigated. He could not go into his ex-wife's home - in a separate house on his premises - because of a court order, but he saw that her bed had not been made.

He phoned the police, who opened the door which had been left unlocked, but left without finding anything amiss.

Prinsloo told them he started to search “far” that night, but went to bed without finding anything.

Early the next morning, he resumed his search and saw from outside that there was a plastic bag in the flower bed near the house.

He ran back and on closer inspection saw a leg and foot sticking out. He knew it was Cordelia's and immediately phoned the police, Prinsloo told them.

Schoonraad said when the family visited the smallholding after the murder, he noticed a bad smell.

There were also a lot of flies at the place where his sister's body was found.

When they opened the his sister's bungalow's door it disintegrated, but he could not find any sign of a struggle inside.

Schoonraad said he later asked the police to take fingerprints when his sister's safe was broken open.

There was a half-open black container in the safe, but the police told him they could not find any fingerprints.

A few days later, while Schoonraad was at the smallholding, Prinsloo became upset with the police.

He said they were not taking the investigation seriously because the investigating officer was a constable. He had appointed his own private investigators.

Prinsloo's advocate put it to Schoonraad that his client had never seen his ex-wife's body and had heard from police that she had been hit behind the neck.

The trial continues. - Sapa

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