Windhoek man accused of murdering girlfriend says death was ‘an accident’

A man accused of murdering his girlfriend in her flat in Windhoek last April says her death was an accident.

Wentzel Maasdorp (40) made this claim during a bail hearing before magistrate Monica Andjaba in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Maasdorp is accused of murdering his then girlfriend, Delia Weimers-Maasdorp (40), in her flat in Klein Windhoek between 25 and 28 April last year.

He is also accused of stealing her car, a cellphone and a television from her flat after she had been killed.

Weimers-Maasdorp was employed at the Namibia University of Science and Technology before her death. Her body was found in her flat on 28 April last year.

Testifying in support of his application to be granted bail, Maasdorp said he is denying guilt on the charges he is facing.

He told the magistrate he was planning to hand himself over to the police when he was arrested in Windhoek on 30 April last year. He said he and Weimers-Maasdorp were involved in a romantic relationship since June 2023, and he lived with her in her flat since July 2023.

Maasdorp said he previously had a substance abuse problem, while Weimers-Maasdorp battled alcoholism.

“She was trying to get sober, but she was also drinking behind my back,” he said.

According to Maasdorp, he found Weimers-Maasdorp drinking when he returned to her flat after work on the evening of 25 April last year.
He said he confronted her about her behaviour, and this turned into an argument.

During the argument, Weimers-Maasdorp threw the contents of a glass of vodka in his face, Maasdorp said.

“She slapped me around,” he added.

“That’s when I blacked out,” Maasdorp said. He continued that when he came to his senses again, he did not know if Weimers-Maasdorp had fainted or what had happened to her, and did not check her pulse. He was in shock and frightened, he said.

Maasdorp testified that he took Weimers-Maasdorp’s car, which he normally used to drive, and left her flat: “Not knowing what to do, because nothing of this sort ever happened to me.”

After withdrawing money at an ATM, he drove to Mariental, from where he drove back to Windhoek. “I went back to the flat, hoping to find her alive. I was in shock,” Maasdorp said.

“The murder was an accident,” he also said.

After finding Weimers-Maasdorp dead, he took a television and cellphone from the flat. He sold the television to get money for fuel before he again left Windhoek with Weimers-Maasdorp’s car.

Maasdorp said he drove to Katima Mulilo and then returned to Rundu, where he left the car.

From there, he got a lift back to Windhoek.

CONFESSION

Maasdorp made an alleged confession to magistrate Celma Amadhila in Windhoek on 3 May last year – a day after his first appearance in court in connection with Weimers-Maasdorp’s death.

He gave the statement to the magistrate after police officers investigating his case put him under pressure and encouraged him to make a confession, Maasdorp said. In the statement, which public prosecutor Eric Naikaku questioned Maasdorp on yesterday, he said he and Weimers-Maasdorp broke up last February, but got back together in March. “As time passed we just grew apart, but we remained good friends,” he said in the statement.

He told the magistrate he went to Weimers-Maasdorp’s flat on the night of the incident to talk to her about a suspicion that she was involved in an affair with someone else.

“It erupted into a fight and she slapped me a few times and that was when I lost my cool and started strangling her,” he recounted to Amadhila.

“It was never my intention to cause her any harm, but when I came to my senses it was already too late,” he added.

Questioned about that part of his statement, Maasdorp told the court: “I blacked out. I would never in my sober mind try to hurt the deceased [Weimers-Maasdorp].”

The bail hearing is due to continue today. Maasdorp is being represented by defence lawyer Samuel Shinedima.