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Home / Trial of ‘Gobabis Delilah’ delayed again due to sick lawyer
Trial of ‘Gobabis Delilah’ delayed again due to sick lawyer
2018-07-16Staff Report 2 Roland Routh WINDHOEK - The trial of a Gobabis woman accused of killing her husband in cahoots with her lover in August 2013, was postponed again because her State-funded lawyer Hipura Ujaha needs medical attention. The case has now been moved to August 20 for its start in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Christi Liebenberg. Rachel Rittmann and her alleged helper and lover Rhyno Richardo du Preez, 34, each face one count of murder, read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of robbery with aggravating circumstances and one count of defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. The State alleges they fatally stabbed Rittmann’s husband, Rudolph Henry Rittmann, at his home in Gobabis and then drove the body in his vehicle to a secluded spot in the veld, where they set the car on fire with the body inside. They allegedly did this to create the impression the deceased was incinerated after his car was involved in an accident. Du Preez is the first accused and is represented by Boris Isaacks on the ticket of legal aid. Rittmann is being held at Klein Windhoek Police Station, while Du Preez is being held at Windhoek Correctional Facility’s holding cells. The remains of Rudolph Rittmann, 35, were found in his burnt car a few days after the incident, a some kilometres from Hosea Kutako International Airport, along the Windhoek-Gobabis road. According to police records and the indictment, the Rittmann couple had marital problems, which would often lead to temporary separation stints during 2012 and 2013. It is suspected the two accused in the matter plotted the man’s murder and worked together to that effect. It is alleged that on August 23, 2013, Rachel fed her husband with unidentified tablets in a drink, which caused him to become drowsy and lose concentration. She allegedly then called in Du Preez, who was waiting nearby, to kill Rudolf. Police suspect that Rudolf was stabbed several times all over his body with a sharp object, presumably a knife, as he lay in a state of confusion on his bed. The two accused then allegedly loaded his body into his car and drove it up to the Kapps Farm area on the eastern outskirts of Windhoek, a few kilometres east of the police checkpoint, where the car was found burned. 2018-07-16Staff Report 2
