Celeb Gossip
Suspect Apprehended in KwaZulu-Natal Following Discovery of Woman’s B0DY in Burning Mercedes Benz
A man is expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate‘s Court on Monday in connection with the murd3r of Mahlako Malebo Rabalao, whose body was found burned inside a burning car in Midrand.
Following a thorough investigation, police have arrested Mahlako Malebo Rabalao’s boyfriend after her b0dy was found burned inside a car in Midrand, in March.
The boyfriend is facing a charge of murd3r.
“The suspect (boyfriend), aged 30, was arrested in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, July 28, after a warrant of arrest was issued against him,” Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said.
On March 7, at around 9pm, police received a call about a burning vehicle in Midrand.
‘Every step you take is recorded’: Expert on cellphone evidence as probing tool
A legal expert says cellphone evidence has changed the game for the country’s prosecutions.
This past week saw explosive evidence in the trial of the men accused of murd3ring Senzo Meyiwa, linking them to the soccer star’s girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, via cell phone records.
This isn’t the first time that this kind of evidence has been used in this kind of case.
Cellphone evidence was used to prosecute a number of high-profile cases, including the Oscar Pistorius case and the Henri Van Breda case, to name but a few.
Dr Llewlewyn Curlewis, a law lecturer at the University of Pretoria, described it as a “tremendous tool”.
“Every chat and step you take is recorded, so with the right investigating work done and the correct experts looking into it, you have a step-by-step profile of exactly where this person was at any given time and what was his various steps going forward in a timeline.
“It’s a tremendous tool for the prosecuting authorities, if you ask me, which was not available, let’s say, 20 years ago.”
Curlewis, however, warned that cellphone evidence had its shortcomings.
“It can still be tampered with. So, authenticity might be a problem in future. I do foresee we will have such events where people will challenge the correctness of the print outs, for example.”
He also highlighted that it was not enough on its own, and that there always needed to be “corroboration” in the form of other evidence or witness testimony.