After indicating that he would abandon his bid for bail and plead guilty, the man accused of murdering Bay physiotherapist Marolien Schmidt did an about-turn on Tuesday.
During his initial court appearance on Monday, Simxolele Zitshu, 31, indicated he was not interested in appointing a legal representative and “just wanted to tell the truth” about what happened on Women’s Day, when an intruder broke into Schmidt’s Richmond Hill home and stabbed her multiple times.
On Tuesday, upon entering the courtroom, the accused seemed more relaxed, smiling at court officials as he was led from the holdings cells into the dock.
Prosecutor Melanie Hammett told the court that she had consulted with the accused, who indicated that he still had no intention of appointing an attorney or of trying to get bail and was considering pleading in the matter.
But when magistrate Dumisani Apollos explained the process to Zitshu again, telling him that an attorney would be able to help him with the legal proceedings, he decided that he would apply for an attorney through Legal Aid and wanted to proceed with a bail application.
When asked if Zitshu still intended to plead in the matter, his newly appointed Legal Aid representative said he did not give her clear instructions about his plea.
Apollos said it seemed that Zitshu had failed to understand proceedings clearly the previous day, hence his change of heart.
According to a court official, the department of correctional services had been looking for Zitshu before his recent arrest because he had allegedly failed to adhere to the parole conditions set for him when he was released from prison several years ago.
“Details around his release, or the offence that landed him in prison, are still very limited, but it seems like the accused was released on parole but absconded and failed to report to his parole officer or his nearest police station, as stated in the parole conditions.
“Simply put, he was convicted of murder and robbery, but dropped off the radar after his release on parole and the department has been unable to locate him since,” the official said.
Zitshu is expected to appear again on August 22 for a formal bail application and for the court to obtain a detailed report from the correctional services department.
He will remain in custody until then.
HeraldLIVE