Panayiotou bail appeal in Grahamstown on July 20

Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Tsepo Ndwalaza confirmed on Thursday the appeal would be heard in Grahamstown later this month.

“That is where the defence applied to have the appeal heard and we do not have a problem with it,” Ndwalaza said.

The 28-year-old Panayiotou is accused of orchestrating the murder of his school teacher wife Jayde, 29, in April.

On June 5, Panayiotou was denied bail by Port Elizabeth magistrate Abigail Beaton who ruled that Panayiotou could be a flight risk and that there was a chance he could interfere with state witnesses.

Upon lodging his appeal, Panayiotou’s legal team launched a scathing attack on Beaton, saying she had erred on a number of fronts when she made the decision to deny their client bail.

Panayiotou and his two co-accused, Luthando Siyoli, and the alleged hitman Sizwe Prince Vumazonke, are all still in custody.

They were arrested shortly after the murder.

It is alleged that Panayiotou hired Siyoli to kill Jayde. According to the State’s case, Siyoli in turn hired Vumazonke to pull the trigger.

Jayde’s body was found near Uitenhage a day after she went missing. She had been shot several times.

Siyoli has since turned state witness. Panayiotou and Vumazonke are being detained at the St. Albans Prison.

The men will all appear in court again on August 13.

 

They face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the ends of justice.

 

File photo: Gallo images 

ANA