SA: Zimbabwean man found guilty of murdering French national

By Agencies

SOUTH AFRICA: A Zimbabwean man was found guilty of the 2022 murder of French national Pierre Bretonnes in the Western Cape High Court.

Trevor Moyo, who was arrested in Hout Bay on Saturday, October 1, 2022, faced several charges, including murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the ends of justice, and being in contravention of the Immigration Act.

This followed the discovery of Bretonnes’s body in a shallow grave in the garden of his Gertie Way home in Noordhoek on Friday, September 30, 2022.

Bretonnes had been missing since Thursday, September 8, but was only reported missing by one of his staff members at the end of that month.

After discovering the body, detectives and crime scene experts combed the property, and there had been an indication of a struggle in the house and an attempt to cover up the crime scene.

Investigating officer Detective Captain Jeremy Marten said a forensic analysis of the house using luminol, a chemical that glows blue when it reacts with blood, revealed drag marks leading police to the garden where Bretonnes had been buried.

At the time of his arrest, Moyo was found in possession of some of Bretonnes’s property, including a Yoco machine he had used to withdraw money from Bretonnes’s account by tapping his bank card.

Detective Marten said Moyo had also used Bretonnes’s bank card at a Hout Bay bar, and images of the bar were found on Moyo’s phone, placing him at the scene where the money had been withdrawn.

In an interview after court proceedings, State prosecutor Advocate Bonginkosi Maki said Moyo pleaded not guilty to all charges except for being in the country illegally.

Investigations showed that Moyo had withdrawn about R140 000 from Bretonnes’s account by tapping his bank card on a Yoco machine linked to an account that Moyo had access to.

He said private security footage also showed that Moyo was the last person seen with Mr Bretonnes on September 7. The footage captured Moyo leaving Bretonnes’s home the following day on a motorbike, and Bretonnes was not seen again.

The case was postponed to Monday, November 24, for sentencing.