When Luthando Siyoni was already in police custody being prepped as a Section 204 witness, wife killer Christopher Panayiotou continued to communicate with him, cellphone records show.
Siyoni later flipped on the stand and forwent his immunity from prosecution.
An analysis of the cellphone records between Siyoni and Panayiotou, who is serving a life sentence for ordering a hit on his wife, Jayde, displayed just how often the two had communicated while allegedly plotting her death.
When it was not Panayiotou and Siyoni talking, Siyoni was allegedly communicating with the hitmen he is accused of procuring.
The cellphone records of the men alleged to be involved in the kidnapping and murder of the much-loved Kariega schoolteacher in April 2015 took centre stage in the Gqeberha high court on Wednesday.
Some of the communication between them had taken place after Siyoni was arrested and was held in police custody, at both the Humewood and Kabega Park police stations.
At the start of his trial earlier in November, Siyoni, 41, pleaded not guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
According to evidence presented in court on Wednesday, as Panayiotou and Siyoni communicated, a variety of cellphones and SIM cards were used.
Warrant Officer Charmaine Bosch, a data analyst for the SA Police Services, testified that Siyoni and Panayiotou had also used the cellphone of someone referred to as “Mawonga” to communicate.
Mawonga’s cellphone records showed 17 outgoing calls to Siyoni before Jayde was shot dead on April 21 2015.
During Panayiotou’s trial, it emerged that Mawonga Ndedwa was an ex-employee at Panayiotou’s Infinity nightclub in Algoa Park, where Siyoni worked as the bouncer.
Bosch’s analysis of the phones further showed communication between Siyoni and someone referred to as “Happy Trigger” and that he had sent this person text messages containing Jayde’s personal information.
On March 6 2015, Siyoni sent Happy Trigger a text message which read: “FGV 297. Grey Ford Fiesta.”
The court had previously heard that this was Jayde’s vehicle.
The cellphones of Siyoni and Happy Trigger had received a signal from the Linton Grange cellphone tower on numerous occasions, Bosch said.
The Linton Grange cellphone tower is near the Stellen Glen Complex where Jayde lived with her husband.
Siyoni’s legal representative, advocate Siphokazi Cubungu, objected to Stander presenting the evidence of Bosch in the manner he did, by letting her read out her report.
Stander said his witness had a mandate from the investigating team to look into the cellphone records and to compile her report.
He said further that he could think of no other reason for Jayde’s personal information to be sent to a contact called “Happy Trigger” from Siyoni’s phone.
Like Happy Trigger, Siyoni sent the same information about Jayde’s vehicle to someone named “Sky” and spoke to a man named “Trompie” in his alleged quest to seal the deal with the hired gun.
Sky and Trompie’s cellphones also picked up reception from the Linton Grange tower before Jayde’s murder.
The state claims Siyoni approached several hitmen before Sizwe Vumazonke eventually agreed to carry out the murder.
Vumazonke died while the trial was in progress.
Like Panayiotou, hitmen Sinethemba Nemembe and Zolani Sibeko were convicted and sentenced to life behind bars.
Siyoni’s trial resumes on Friday.
HeraldLIVE
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