Durban — A Chatsworth man alleged to have bludgeoned his former girlfriend to death with a hammer has been indicted to the high court.
Sugandran Rodney Naicker, 35, appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court this week where the trial date was set in the Durban High Court for October.
Naicker is charged with the murder of 35-year-old Vyaksha Sookdew.
Naicker remains behind bars after being refused bail by the magistrate’s court in January.
He is alleged to have killed Sookdew in December and led police to her body three days after her murder following a confession.
Reacting to the news, Tashleen Kasipershad, Sookdew’s cousin and family spokesperson, said: “The family hopes for a speedy trial and a conviction followed by a lengthy sentence.”
Naicker, who is married and has two children who live with their mother and grandparents, was arrested while driving Sookdew’s car.
He is alleged to have killed Sookdew on December 21. On December 24 Naicker obtained fuel at a petrol station and left without paying. He later returned, driving Sookdew’s car, to the same garage. An attendant identified him and the police were called.
Upon his arrest for this, he confessed to police to killing Sookdew.
During his bail application, Naicker told the court he had allegedly been highly intoxicated, adding that he had been a heavy substance user eight months before the alleged killing.
It is alleged that following the murder and in a bid to cover his tracks, Naicker sent a message from Sookdew’s phone to her employer reporting that she would not be coming to work as she was taking her mother to hospital.
The State at the time opposed bail, saying the accused was a flight risk as he had tried to cover up the murder. The State will be relying on Naicker’s confession during the trial, the fact that he was found in possession of Sookdew’s car, and DNA evidence.
Sookdew was employed as an instrumentation technician at AECI Mining Chemicals. Her body was found decomposed, wrapped in black refuse bags and was identified by her family by her belly ring and clothing.
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Daily News