WINDHOEK – One of the first police officers at the scene of the gruesome murder of 24-year-old Louise Ross Shimunu Alupe on November 10, 2014, at Dunes Independence Beach in Walvis Bay yesterday testified about what he found when he arrived at the scene.
Warrant Officer Helmuth Tizee Mariine related to the court that when he arrived at the scene, he found Petrus lying on his stomach next to a bundle that was covered with clothes. He asked Petrus what had happened to which Petrus replied he accidentally shot his girlfriend while they were struggling for the gun.
Petrus faces murder for killing Alupe with a firearm he stole from his uncle, Jason Shali Kasheeta. He also faces a charge of theft of the same firearm.
It is alleged in the indictment that he lured Alupe to Independence Seashore, Kuisebmond at Walvis Bay under the guise of trying to reconcile with her after she had broken off their relationship. While there, he shot her with his uncle’s pistol before turning the weapon on himself, but he failed to kill himself and he was found next to the deceased in a pool of blood.
So far the uncle of Petrus told High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka that his nephew confessed to murdering his girlfriend when he testified in the ongoing murder trial in the Windhoek High Court.
Yesterday, the officer confirmed what Kasheeta had confessed. Petrus pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder, but guilty to a charge of theft of a firearm last week and reiterated his claim that the firearm went off while he and the deceased were struggling for its possession when he was cross-examined by his Legal Aid lawyer, Mpokiseng Dube.
The case continues and Advocate Salomon Kanyemba represents the State.
Petrus is free on bail of N$4,000 that he was granted in 2015.