Van der Vyver cleared of Lotz murder

Judge Deon van Zyl said Van der Vyver had had no motive to murder his girlfriend, and that his alibi – that he had been at his workplace at the time of the murder – had to be accepted as reasonably true, says a report on the Legalbrief Today site. The judge said it would have been impossible for Van der Vyver to have left his workplace on the afternoon of the murder; to have gone to Lotz\'s Stellenbosch home; to have attacked her; and then to have returned to his office – all in the space of two hours. According to a report in The Times, he also criticised the police investigation, and said neither the state’s forensic evidence nor its efforts to prove a motive, jealousy, could withstand scrutiny. ‘When a lovely young girl’s life is cut short in this way, it’s understandable that the community demands a culprit,’ the judge said. ‘But no court can make a finding on the strength of suspicion.’ He said it could be asked whether the prosecution of Van der Vyver had been justified. Full report on the Legalbrief Today site Full report on The Times site

The High Court verdict comes nearly 2½ years after Van der Vyver had been charged. Senior Superintendent Billy Jones would not comment on further investigations or whether other suspects had been identified. ‘We want to study the docket and will discuss the way forward with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Only afterwards, will we make a decision,’ he told Die Burger. He said shortcomings in the police investigation as pointed out by the judge would be investigated. Van der Vyver\'s heavyweight legal team was considering a civil suit against the state. William Booth, his attorney, said the police\'s actions were a source of concern. ‘The legal team is considering a civil suit, but that is not yet final.’ One of the state\'s advocates, Christenus van der Vijver, said once one was found not guilty on a specific charge, you could not be charged with it again, even if new evidence surfaced. He said the verdict was ‘well motivated’. ‘Every aspect of the case was covered.’ Full report in Die Burger