A Windhoek resident accused of murdering his girlfriend in April last year will hear in three weeks' time if he will be released on bail.
Magistrate Monica Andjaba postponed the delivery of her ruling on murder accused Wentzel Maasdorp's application to be granted bail to 7 February after hearing oral arguments in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Maasdorp (40) is accused of murdering his then girlfriend, Delia Weimers-Maasdorp in her flat in Klein Windhoek between 25 and 28 April last year.
Weimers-Maasdorp (40) was discovered dead in her flat on 28 April. Her body was found wrapped in a blanket, with rope tied around the blanket.
The state is alleging that Maasdorp stole Weimers-Maasdorp's car, a television and an Apple iPhone from her flat after he had killed her.
The car was later found abandoned at Rundu. Maasdorp sold the television and iPhone to someone in Windhoek, and was paid with money and cocaine for the items, a police officer told the court during Maasdorp's bail hearing.
Maasdorp testified during the bail hearing two weeks ago that he and Weimers-Maasdorp were arguing at her flat during the evening of 25 April last year, and that he experienced "a trance or blackout" after she had thrown the contents of a glass of vodka in his face and slapped him.
When he came to his senses, he found Weimers-Maasdorp lying on the floor, he said.
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Maasdorp said he did not know if she had fainted and he did not check her pulse before he left the scene in a state of shock.
"The murder was an accident," Maasdorp said.
However, in a statement he made to a magistrate three days after his arrest, Maasdorp said he strangled Weimers-Maasdorp during a fight and that "it was already too late" when he came to his senses.
Weimers-Maasdorp's former husband, lawyer Ramon Maasdorp, who testified as a state witness during the bail hearing, told the court that in his opinion the accused has shown he should not be free in society until a court has decided if he is guilty.
Defence lawyer Samuel Shinedima on Friday argued, however, that Maasdorp has shown he is a suitable candidate to be granted bail.
Shinedima acknowledged that evidence presented by the prosecution could lead to a conviction for Maasdorp, who at this stage is charged with counts of murder and theft.
He also argued that the seriousness of the offence Maasdorp is accused of is not the only factor that should determine whether he should be granted bail and that Maasdorp must not be denied bail as a form of anticipatory punishment before he has been found guilty.
With the state opposing the granting of bail to Maasdorp, public prosecutor Eric Naikaku argued there is a risk he would flee if released on bail.
Naikaku said Maasdorp's testimony during the bail hearing stood in stark contrast to his version in the statement he made to a magistrate after his arrest and that this is an indication of his character.
The prosecution has shown that Maasdorp is manipulative, he lived off the charity of Weimers-Maasdorp, and that he is not a good candidate for bail, Naikaku also argued.
Maasdorp was arrested in Windhoek on 30 April last year.
