WALVIS BAY – The Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court denied bail to Jomo Petrus who is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend 24-year-old Louise Alupe at Independence Beach last week Monday.
The 29-year-old Petrus, a fisherman, made his first appearance in a fully packed courtroom on Friday on charges of murder read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act of 2003, theft of a firearm and alternatively the illegal possession of a firearm.
Whilst being escorted to the courtroom on Friday, Petrus who was not handcuffed tried to cover his face with his heavily bandaged hands to avoid being photographed by journalists.
He is accused of luring his former girlfriend to the beach last week Monday afternoon between 16h00 and 18h00 after she ended their relationship earlier.
Petrus allegedly blindfolded Alupe and shot her twice in her head at close range with a pistol and then turned the pistol on himself. However the faulty weapon jammed and did not discharge another bullet.
He apparently then resorted to using broken glass to cut his wrists, which also failed. Residents staying in close proximity heard gunshots and alerted the Kuisebmond police, who found Petrus and the blindfolded lifeless body of Alupe. Petrus was then taken to the Walvis Bay state hospital for treatment after which he was detained until he appeared in court.
During the court proceedings the public prosecutor Eden Iyambo on behalf of the State said the post-mortem report showed that two shots were fired by the suspect and the victim bore four wounds.
He opposed bail stating that some statements of witnesses were still outstanding and the State was opposing bail due to the seriousness of the case.
Magistrate Vicky Nicoladis then denied Petrus bail and told him that he could apply for legal aid on his own cost. The case was postponed to January 29 for further investigation.