Father pleads not guilty, says he was depressed when he shot mother of his child

Cape Town 27-7-2021 Wayne Lawrence returned to the court yesterday where he is set to stand trial for the murder of Abigail Marinus,36, but the matter was postponed to 6 August. pic supplied

Cape Town 27-7-2021 Wayne Lawrence returned to the court yesterday where he is set to stand trial for the murder of Abigail Marinus,36, but the matter was postponed to 6 August. pic supplied

Published Nov 23, 2022

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Cape Town - The trial of Wayne Lawrence, accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and shooting his own daughter in the foot, will resume at the Western Cape High Court on January 16 next year.

Lawrence is charged with 12 counts, including murder, attempted murder, assault, domestic abuse, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and pointing a firearm.

The State alleges that Lawrence shot and killed Angela Marinus, then 35, his former girlfriend with whom he shared a child, on December 11, 2017.

The trial kicked off at the Cape Town Regional Court sitting at the high court in October, with Lawrence pleading not guilty to all charges.

His lawyer, William Booth provided the court with further admissions and an amplification of his plea, in which Lawrence denied that his actions were premeditated.

“The accused (Lawrence) avers that during his relationship with the deceased (Marinus), she on regular occasions abused him and had physical relationships with other men.

“At the time of her death, the deceased was involved with Abdurahman Malan, a person with whom she worked,” court documents read.

Lawrence had been on prescription medication after being hospitalised in October 2017 for depression.

“At the time of the victim’s death, the accused was in a severely depressed state of mind, having been diagnosed with major depression and generalised anxiety disorder.

“It is averred that although the accused (Lawrence) understood the difference between right and wrong, his state of mind was diminished and his judgement impaired at the time of the said incident as a result of the aforementioned illnesses,” court documents read.

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Cape Argus

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