City stabbing trial starts

THE murder trial of Windhoek resident Sean Burger, who has admitted that he stabbed a female acquaintance to death in her home in the city almost 20 months ago, is set to start in the High Court in Windhoek today.

Burger (37) made short appearances before Acting Judge Kato van Niekerk in the High Court on Monday, which had been scheduled to be the starting date of his trial, and again yesterday. His case was first postponed to yesterday so that his defence lawyers, Louis Botes and Sarel Maritz, could further consult with Burger and prepare his plea.Yesterday Botes asked for a further postponement, until today, because a South African clinical psychologist called by the defence to testify on Burger’s state of mind would only arrive in Windhoek this morning.Burger faces a single count of murder.It is alleged that he killed 29-year-old Theresia Viljoen in an apparently frenzied knife attack in her home in Behring Street, Windhoek West, on September 15 2002.Burger was arrested the next day.On the day after that, according to sources closely involved with the case, he made a written confession to a Windhoek Magistrate, admitting that he was responsible for the fatal stabbing.A little over six months after his arrest, Burger also offered a guilty plea to a charge of culpable homicide in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.He admitted, through his defence lawyer Maritz, that he had stabbed Viljoen and should have foreseen that there was a possibility that she could have died as a result of the stabbing.Until now, though, he has never publicly revealed what had prompted him to launch the attack on her.Viljoen was stabbed 21 times, the prosecution alleges.According to the indictment that Burger will have to plead to today, he used three knives to stab her, with the first two having broken during the attack.Then, it is stated in the charge sheet, he left Viljoen “in a pool of blood to die”.Public Prosecutor Frieda Kishi is set to lead the prosecution in Burger’s trial.He has been in custody for more than a year and seven months by now.His case was first postponed to yesterday so that his defence lawyers, Louis Botes and Sarel Maritz, could further consult with Burger and prepare his plea.Yesterday Botes asked for a further postponement, until today, because a South African clinical psychologist called by the defence to testify on Burger’s state of mind would only arrive in Windhoek this morning.Burger faces a single count of murder.It is alleged that he killed 29-year-old Theresia Viljoen in an apparently frenzied knife attack in her home in Behring Street, Windhoek West, on September 15 2002.Burger was arrested the next day.On the day after that, according to sources closely involved with the case, he made a written confession to a Windhoek Magistrate, admitting that he was responsible for the fatal stabbing.A little over six months after his arrest, Burger also offered a guilty plea to a charge of culpable homicide in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.He admitted, through his defence lawyer Maritz, that he had stabbed Viljoen and should have foreseen that there was a possibility that she could have died as a result of the stabbing.Until now, though, he has never publicly revealed what had prompted him to launch the attack on her.Viljoen was stabbed 21 times, the prosecution alleges.According to the indictment that Burger will have to plead to today, he used three knives to stab her, with the first two having broken during the attack.Then, it is stated in the charge sheet, he left Viljoen “in a pool of blood to die”.Public Prosecutor Frieda Kishi is set to lead the prosecution in Burger’s trial.He has been in custody for more than a year and seven months by now.