WINDHOEK - A 21-year-old man from Leonardville near Gobabis yesterday denied having slit the throat of his two months pregnant girlfriend. This was entered as his plea to charges of murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act and defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice before Windhoek High Court Acting Judge Kobus Miller.

Davis Elrico Kasupi did not enter a plea explanation and told the judge through his state-funded lawyer, Jermaine Muchali, that he will remain silent and put the prove of all charges on the state.
Muchali confirmed the plea and said the basis of their defense will become apparent during the course of the trial.

According to the state, Kasupi killed Lady Daire with whom he was in a domestic relationship during the period January 4 to 5, 2015 in Leonardville by slitting her throat with a knife or other unknown sharp objects.

It is further alleged that Kasupi unlawfully and with the intent to defeat or obstruct the course of justice hid a pair of sandals and/or a shirt and/or a short trouser in bags under his bed and that he did it to frustrate the investigation into the death of the deceased.

According to the indictment, the accused was searching for the deceased during the evening of Sunday, January 4, 2015 in the Saamstaan location of Leonardville settlement and asking witnesses on her whereabouts.

It is further stated that during the late night hours of January 4, 2015 or the early morning hours of January 5, 2015 the accused met up with or was in the company of the deceased at or near a footpath a distance away from her residence where he slit her throat and she died as a result of hemorrhagic shock due to the injuries sustained.

Yesterday, the state represented by Advocate Cliff Lutibezi called the mother of the deceased who informed the court that on the night of January 4, 2015, her daughter was at home until around 20h00 when she received a text message from the accused.

The deceased then went out, but returned after a short while and then received another text message and she then left the house.

She further narrated that the deceased did not return home that night and that she went to look for her the next morning.

According to Anna Daire, she saw shoe prints in her yard that resembled that of Adidas footwear and she started to follow it, then one of her neighbours, Otto Rooi approached her and told her that he found the body of a woman in the bushes.

She immediately told Rooi that it must be her daughter since the latter did not come home the previous night and they then went in the direction of where the body was, the distraught mother told the court.
She went on to say that when they arrived at the scene, she saw that it was the body of her daughter and also saw the cellphone of the deceased lying on the ground near the body.
“I picked up the cellphone of my daughter and me and Otto Rooi returned to my house where he left me and went to call the police,” she further testified.

According to Anna, she held on to the cellphone of the deceased until the police arrived and then handed it over to them.
Rooi also testified.

According to him, on the morning of January 5, 2015, he went to the bushes to relieve himself, as they do not have toilet facilities.

After relieving himself, he took a footpath back to his house when he saw someone lying under a big tree, he said and continued: “I went to have a closer look because I was wondering whether the person was sleeping or maybe was drunk.”

When he got closer to the person, Rooi said, he saw blood all around the body and he decided to go to the nearest house to alert the people about what he saw.
It was then that he met up with Anna and told her what he discovered.
The trial is continuing today and Kasupi remains in custody.