Husband accused of hiring a gardener to murder his wife, allegedly promising him R50,000 and a new house for the hit
THE Pretoria High Court yesterday heard that a geologist accused of hiring a gardener to kill his wife discovered her body after he smelt a stench and saw flies about 20metres from her house.
Michael Jacobus Prinsloo, 63, is on trial for allegedly hiring Lucas Moloi, 33, to kill former air hostess Cordelia.
Her body was found wrapped in a black plastic bag and buried in a flower bed in her garden on October 14 2009.
Moloi confessed to the murder but claimed he had acted on Prinsloo's instructions.
He said he hit her twice on the head with a garden spade while she was watering the flowers.
He claimed that Prinsloo promised him R50,000 and a new house if he carried out the job.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Prinsloo lived on the same property as Cordelia, but in a separate house.
Prinsloo denied that he was involved in his wife's murder. He said he started worrying about her a day after she went missing.
"On October 13, I left my house to play golf in Centurion until late in the afternoon," he said.
"When I got back her whereabouts were still unknown but her bedroom window was left open. I looked through and found that her bed was not made up. I called one of her friends who told me that she flew to [somewhere in] Africa."
Prinsloo said he began to feel uneasy about the whole situation.
"I looked for her at airports and nobody knew about her," he said.
"I then went to the police station and asked for someone who would go with me into her house. We searched for her everywhere until my flashlight went off but we could not find her. The following day, I went out at first light to look for her. When I was about 20metres away, I smelt something."
He said he knew the smell of decomposing flesh because he was a hunter for 30 years.
"I then saw flies flying over an area. I went straight to the flower garden."
The case continues.
How geologist says he found ex's body
Husband accused of hiring a gardener to murder his wife, allegedly promising him R50,000 and a new house for the hit
THE Pretoria High Court yesterday heard that a geologist accused of hiring a gardener to kill his wife discovered her body after he smelt a stench and saw flies about 20metres from her house.
Michael Jacobus Prinsloo, 63, is on trial for allegedly hiring Lucas Moloi, 33, to kill former air hostess Cordelia.
Her body was found wrapped in a black plastic bag and buried in a flower bed in her garden on October 14 2009.
Moloi confessed to the murder but claimed he had acted on Prinsloo's instructions.
He said he hit her twice on the head with a garden spade while she was watering the flowers.
He claimed that Prinsloo promised him R50,000 and a new house if he carried out the job.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Prinsloo lived on the same property as Cordelia, but in a separate house.
Prinsloo denied that he was involved in his wife's murder. He said he started worrying about her a day after she went missing.
"On October 13, I left my house to play golf in Centurion until late in the afternoon," he said.
"When I got back her whereabouts were still unknown but her bedroom window was left open. I looked through and found that her bed was not made up. I called one of her friends who told me that she flew to [somewhere in] Africa."
Prinsloo said he began to feel uneasy about the whole situation.
"I looked for her at airports and nobody knew about her," he said.
"I then went to the police station and asked for someone who would go with me into her house. We searched for her everywhere until my flashlight went off but we could not find her. The following day, I went out at first light to look for her. When I was about 20metres away, I smelt something."
He said he knew the smell of decomposing flesh because he was a hunter for 30 years.
"I then saw flies flying over an area. I went straight to the flower garden."
The case continues.
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