THE trial of two men accused of murdering a man while he was hunting rabbits on a farm in the Free State was briefly adjourned yesterday.
Nicolas van Aswegen, 27, and Louis Maree are accused of killing Jeremiah Botsane, 47, of Botshabelo and of assaulting his friend Lechesa Matsie, 20.
Botsane and Matsie were hunting rabbits in Verkeerdevlei outside Bloemfontein in March 2010.
The trial, which had resumed at the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday, was yesterday briefly adjourned.
Presiding Judge Sharmin Ibrahim adjourned the case to give the prosecution more time to look into the arguments that will be presented by the defence today indicating that there was not sufficient evidence against their clients.
According to the defence lawyers there was not sufficient evidence to charge their clients.
The state closed its case on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Adam Mohlale said they were satisfied with the number of witnesses who had provided testimony since the trial began in September 2010.
But, the defence felt that evidence presented to the court was insufficient and urged that the case be dismissed.
The case was withdrawn in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court in July 2010 due to a lack of evidence and because the initial postmortem results revealed that the bullet that killed Botsane had hit him indirectly.
But, the case was reinstated in September 2010 and Botsane's body was exhumed for further postmortem investigations.
Van Aswegen was arrested immediately after being fingered by Matsie as having shot Botsane on March 27 2010.
The judge told the court yesterday she wanted both parties to prepare for arguments scheduled to be heard today.
She expected to wrap up the case by tomorrow.
The trial continues.
Murder case delayed
THE trial of two men accused of murdering a man while he was hunting rabbits on a farm in the Free State was briefly adjourned yesterday.
Nicolas van Aswegen, 27, and Louis Maree are accused of killing Jeremiah Botsane, 47, of Botshabelo and of assaulting his friend Lechesa Matsie, 20.
Botsane and Matsie were hunting rabbits in Verkeerdevlei outside Bloemfontein in March 2010.
The trial, which had resumed at the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday, was yesterday briefly adjourned.
Presiding Judge Sharmin Ibrahim adjourned the case to give the prosecution more time to look into the arguments that will be presented by the defence today indicating that there was not sufficient evidence against their clients.
According to the defence lawyers there was not sufficient evidence to charge their clients.
The state closed its case on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Adam Mohlale said they were satisfied with the number of witnesses who had provided testimony since the trial began in September 2010.
But, the defence felt that evidence presented to the court was insufficient and urged that the case be dismissed.
The case was withdrawn in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court in July 2010 due to a lack of evidence and because the initial postmortem results revealed that the bullet that killed Botsane had hit him indirectly.
But, the case was reinstated in September 2010 and Botsane's body was exhumed for further postmortem investigations.
Van Aswegen was arrested immediately after being fingered by Matsie as having shot Botsane on March 27 2010.
The judge told the court yesterday she wanted both parties to prepare for arguments scheduled to be heard today.
She expected to wrap up the case by tomorrow.
The trial continues.
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