2016-04-25Staff Report 2 Windhoek The matter in which a Gobabis woman allegedly connived with her lover to murder her husband in August 2013 will proceed in the High Court May 12 to enable the defence and the prosecution to sort out some of the outstanding legal issues currently impeding the start of the trial. The matter was remanded on Thursday when Rachel Elizabeth Rittmann, 45, and Ryno Ricardo du Preez, 32, made another appearance before Judge Naomi Shivute. Each of the accused faces one count of murder in relation to the death of Rudolf Rittmann, 35. According to the charge sheet, the Rittmann couple had marital problems, which lead to temporary separations during 2012 and 2013. It is suspected the two accused plotted the man’s murder. Rudolf's burnt remains were found in his car near Hosea Kutako International Airport along the Windhoek-Gobabis road a few days after the incident. After the incident three years ago, police regional crime investigation coordinator Deputy Commissioner Sylvanus Nghishidimbwa said it was suspected that Rachel hired her boyfriend, Du Preez, to murder her husband so that she could cash in on his insurance policy. It is alleged the murder took place at a house in Gobabis and that the body was transported by car to a spot between Hosea Kutako International Airport and Kapps Farm, where the vehicle was then set on fire. In addition to the murder charge, the two each face a count of defeating or obstructing the cause of justice and a count of violating a body by setting the body alight. They also each face a count of malicious damage to property. Rittmann is being held at the Klein Windhoek Police Station, while Du Preez is at the Windhoek Central Correctional Facility. Defence lawyers Milton Engelbrecht and Boris Isaaks are defending the two accused, while Deputy Prosecutor-General Antonia Verhoef is representing the State. 2016-04-25Staff Report 2
