Kirsten Kluyts murder case postponed to Monday

Kluyts' lifeless body was discovered at George Lea Park in Sandton after she failed to finish her race at a MyRun event on 29 October.

A 21-year-old student was arrested last month following a joint investigation between police, a private investigator, and a private security company after he was placed at the scene of the crime through CCTV footage.

It emerged on Wednesday that the man now faces charges of rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and premeditated murder.

State Prosecutor Ayanda Bakana told the court that while investigations are continuing, the postmortem report is now available.

"The cause of death is blunt force head trauma, strangulation, smothering, as well as pressure to the neck."

The accused not only admitted to being at the scene, but he also told the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court that he tried to wake the deceased after he spotted her body.

"I realised after shaking her that there was no response…like someone is laying in bed, and you're shaking them, and there was no response. Then I pulled her, and she laid the other way.

"That's when I checked for a pulse, and then I put my ear on her heart. That's when I realised that there's nothing."

He said he removed Kluyts' clothes from the scene because he feared leaving traces of his DNA.

"I know gender-based violence is a big thing in the country, so I didn't want to be involved. That's why I tried to take away the clothes because of my fingerprints and stuff."

The 21-year-old told the court he was left with a perforated eardrum following an alleged assault on the day of his arrest.

"He was slapping me from downstairs until my room, and then the private investigator took the iron in my room and told one of the police officers to switch on the iron because he was going to burn me because I was playing games.

"That's when he also pulled out the gun, but he didn't point it at me."

The student will remain in custody until his next appearance.