US court rejects SA man's murder confession
A South African man's apparent confession to four murders, which was videotaped by Texas Rangers after his arrest, has been thrown out by a US court.
A report on the News24 site notes that in his ruling, Judge Albert Mitchell found that Muziwokuthula 'Muzi' Madondo's state and federal rights had been violated after his requests for an attorney, as well as his request not speak to the police, had been ignored. Madondo is to be tried before a jury in the Quay County District Court in the US state of New Mexico for two of the four murders - those of father and son Bobby Gonzales (57), and Gabriel Baca (37). Mitchell, who will preside over that trial, ruled that 'the oral and video statements of the defendant are suppressed'. Madondo has pleaded not guilty to the first degree murders of Gonzales and Baca. He allegedly shot them in a motel in Tucumcari before fleeing to Texas, where he was arrested in March 2011. He also faces a charge of tampering with evidence. The jury at Madondo's trial may yet get to hear what he said to officers as Mitchell in a separate order allowed both the District Attorney and Bargas to lodge an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court before he stands trial should they wish to do so, the report notes. Full report on the News24 site