Windhoek
Elias Kagub, the father of Renelda Alien Oamite Hoeses, who was 22 at the time of her demise, yesterday described to the court in heart-wrenching detail how he came upon the lifeless body of his child.
Kagub testified in the Windhoek High Court in the trial of Edmund Jagger, 26, who is accused of murdering Hoeses, his girlfriend at the time and mother of his child.
Jagger pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday afternoon and elected to remain silent and not to disclose his defense.
Before Kagub took the stand, however, the Scene of Crime Unit Detective, Inspector Harry Hoaeb, informed the court that he took photos at the scene after the incident. According to Hoaeb he counted “17 to 18 holes” in the body of the deceased.
He also told Judge Alfred Siboleka that after he finished at the crime scene he was taken to the residence of the accused, where he photographed a bloody knife and a piece of wire hanging from the roof of the room.
Jagger wanted to commit suicide after the murder, it is stated in the indictment.
Hoaeb further informed the court he also took pictures of Jagger in his hospital bed, where he took a photo of a lesion around the neck of Jagger.
Kagub testified that Jagger stayed at his house together with the deceased after he (Jagger) relocated in 2010 from Mariental, where he first met the deceased. “We had a very good relationship, because he was the boyfriend of my daughter and I accepted him as a son,” he told the court.
Kagub recalled the relationship started to get sour towards the end of 2012 when the two started quarrelling on a regular basis. The quarrelling escalated towards the end of 2012 and Jagger then moved out, the bereaved father told the court.
On the night in question, he said, he returned home from a visit to relatives at around 23h00 when he received a text message from his daughter, saying “Eddy is going on”, so he went to investigate.
When he arrived at the shack his daughter used as a bedroom he found Jagger at the entrance and he asked the young man what he wants. Kagub further narrated that Jagger told him that the deceased did not want to open the door when he knocks and so he asked Jagger to leave and return the following morning. After that he went to sleep, but was later woken up by a female friend who informed him that his grandchild is missing. He then went with her to look for the child.
After a fruitless search he decided to return home, Kagub said. He continued, saying it was then that he noticed a number of police cars at his residence. It was only when he entered his yard that he found the deceased lying in a pool of blood outside his house, Kagub told the court.
He also identified the knife Hoaeb photographed as the property of Jagger.
According to the charge sheet Jagger killed Hoeses by stabbing her 18 times. According to the summary of substantial facts in the indictment, Jagger entered the residence of the deceased’s father at Erf 1978, Build Together in Orwetoveni in Otjiwarongo during the late night hours of Friday March 1, 2013 (or the early morning hours of March 2, 2013) armed with a knife and attacked and killed Renelda Hoeses.
The deceased died on the scene due to hypovolemic shock caused by the stab wounds. After the attack, it is stated, Jagger fled the scene of the crime and attempted to commit suicide.
Jagger is represented by Joshua Kaumbi on instructions of the Legal Aid Directorate. Deputy Prosecutor General Karin Esterhuizen appears on behalf of the State.