Secret recordings and cell phone plotting key to murder trial

A secret police recording of a murder accused and the evidence around cell phone plotting have dominated proceedings at one of the most dramatic criminal trials in SA history, notes Legalbrief. The recording of Christopher Panayiotou talking to self-confessed middleman Luthando Siyoni shortly after the murder of Panayiotou’s wife Jayde was leaked to the media and threatens to blow the lid off the defence’s version of events. A TimesLIVE report notes that The Herald published the recording‚ which was filmed in a wire-tapped car at the Algoa Park Steers days after Jayde was shot dead. The video was viewed in the Eastern Cape High Court (Port Elizabeth) after Judge Dayalin Chetty found it to be admissible. The state and defence spent several weeks arguing over the admissibility of the secret recording‚ with the defence claiming Siyoni was tortured by police and forced to get his former boss to incriminate himself.