ALLEGED killer Bongani Mateyise winked at the packed gallery while being ushered out the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate’s Court yesterday after a brief appearance with two co-accused for the cold-blooded murders of smallholders Willie and Julie le Roux.

Mateyise, 23, Luanda Ngabon, 21, and Silengiswe Singaphi, 20, were arrested in Nekkies, Knysna, on Saturday.

Outside the court, detectives involved in the case said “arrogant” Mateyise had not displayed “a scrap of remorse” since his arrest.

Julie le Roux’s shocked sisters, Monica Roux and Marthie Klynveld, who had travelled from Potchefstroom for their sister and brother-in-law’s funeral today, appeared at a loss for words over Mateyise’s behaviour.

“He looks very proud of himself,” was all that Roux could offer.

The Le Roux couple’s bodies were found on their smallholding near Kranshoek on Monday last week, a day after police had discovered their stolen car abandoned at a KwaNokuthula training college outside town.

Julie le Roux, 50, was shot in the forehead at point blank range and her 53-year-old husband was killed by numerous blows to the head with a heavy, blunt object.

Both were murdered with their hands wired behind their backs. Julie’s body was found on a bed in a bedroom of the main house and Willie was found in one of two chalets on the property, some distance from the main house.

Magistrate Len Goosen yesterday postponed the case to Wednesday next week in order to give Mateyise and Ngabon an opportunity to obtain legal representation.

Singaphi indicated that he would apply for legal aid. The three suspects were not asked to plead and were remanded to custody in Knysna Prison.

All three accused were residents of nearby KwaNokuthula and Mateyise and Ngabon were apparently employed by Willie le Roux in his building business.

Police expect it will be about a year before a place can be found on the High Court roll for the trial of the trio.

Southern Cape police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie confirmed yesterday that all the evidence collected at the murder scenes were being transported to the police forensic science laboratory in Cape Town for processing.

The .38 revolver stolen from the couple would be tested to establish if it was used to kill Julie le Roux.

Police also recovered two laptop computers, a video camera and a cellphone among other items taken from the Le Roux home.

Earlier this week family members said the couple had moved to Plettenberg Bay from Potchefstroom about 10 years ago “for the promise of a life in paradise and for the peaceful lifestyle”.