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Cape Town - The case against the man accused of murdering Stellenbosch academic and paediatrician Professor Louis Heyns was postponed on Monday.
Marthinus van der Walt, 34, appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Monday. Initially he, along with his brother Sarel, 43, were accused of killing Heyns in May 2013.
Sarel pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and theft. He reached a plea bargain with the State last year.
It is alleged the professor was hijacked after he left his brother’s home in Somerset West at 20:30 on May 22 2013, News24 previously reported. He was then apparently strangled and beaten.
Heyns’ body was found in a shallow grave in Strand eight days later.
A third suspect, Malmesbury businessman and scrapyard owner Juan Liedeman, pleaded guilty to a charge of not having reasonable cause to believe the hijacked car, a Peugeot 308, was properly acquired.
He also entered a plea bargain and sentencing agreement and was handed a R10 000 fine or five years behind bars. Half the fine and sentence were reportedly suspended for five years on condition that he not be convicted of a similar crime during this period.
The case against Marthinus resumes on May 11.
