Explosive testimony was heard on Wednesday in the ongoing murder trial of Vicki Terblanche playing out in the High Court in Gqeberha.
The 41-year-old Vicki was killed on the 18th of October 2021, according to the state, however, Leach testified that she was dead on the morning of the 19th.
She was drugged and then suffocated before her body was buried in a shallow grave.
Leach said when he was arrested alongside his co-accused Dylan Cullis, he was the first person who wanted bail and started with his bail proceedings, a month later, however, Vicki's estranged husband Arnold, believed to be the mastermind in the murder, was also arrested.
Leach said his attorney, Theuns Roelofse, advised him to hold off on his bail application to see how Arnold's bail would pan out. When state Advocate Marius Stander asked him how he managed to pay for an attorney, Leach said Roelofse said he did not have to pay just yet, and to date, he still has not.
During his testimony, Leach insisted that it was Dylan Cullis who suffocated Vicki and not him. He said it was Mario de Ridder who woke him up in a panic as Vicki was screaming, and it was then he noticed Cullis on top of Vicki smothering her with a pillow.
Leach said Vicki screamed for 15 seconds, fighting, until all went quiet.
Earlier in the day he said after Vicki drank the Berocca with the crushed tablets he had sex with her. (The autopsy found no traces of semen and only a tampon).
He said he later went to the bedroom to check her pulse if she was still breathing but knew she was dead.
When asked why Leach was upset with Cullis, as the plan was to kill Vicki anyway, he replied stating that it was not part of the plan and having a body in the house would be problematic.
Leach said they now had no idea what to do with her body and first discussed burning the deceased. They then went for a drive to a friend of De Ridder, to ask for advice on how to dispose of the body.
The friend suggested dumping her at a garbage site or in the ocean.
Leach said he phoned Arnold to tell him the deed was done. He said there was a long silence on the phone. Leach said when they asked to borrow his rubber duck he said he wanted nothing to do with it.
PEANUT
The trio was running out of options as to what to do with Vicki's body and removed her from the house, she had urinated herself and they decided to take off her jeans and top and put a dress on her.
Leach testified that Vicki was heavy and all three of them wrapped her in the duvet and placed her in the boot of the BMW, feet first.
They then went go-karting, with Vicki's body in the boot as they still had no idea how to dispose of her.
Leach testified that Arnold told him to file a missing persons report and to send him a fake voice note message informing him that he and Vicki had had a fight the night before and that she was missing.
According to Leach, it was Arnold who suggested filing a missing persons report.
Leach said Vicki's body was in the boot for two days and they decided to go back to Peanut, where they stored Vicki's and Reinhardt's clothes.
He said Cullis remained in the vehicle when he and De Ridder told Peanut they had a body in the boot and needed someone to dig a grave.
Peanut, who is a known drug dealer in the area, asked for R3 000 but Leach said he only had R1 200 which he accepted.
The men went back to the Chelsea sports bar, drinking, while waiting for Peanut.
Leach said they later saw Peanut walking with a shovel, and he took them to the gravesite. It was raining, and there was a lot of mud. Leach instructed everyone to get out of the car to make it lighter so they would not get stuck.
According to Leach both De Ridder and Cullis left once Vicki's body was taken out of the boot. Leach was worried that they would frame him and he instructed them to return. He says in the end it was Peanut who placed Vicki in her final resting place.
DRUGS
When cross-examined by the state, Leach testified that once Arnold was arrested they were in a cell together for a while where he asked Cullis to change his statement as Arnold would look after him in prison.
On another occasion, he said, it was Arnold who asked Cullis to remove his name.
Leach said Arnold, supplied him with drugs while they were incarcerated at St Albans by using what is commonly known as a voucher system.
Leach said Arnold would give him R1 500 a week, sometimes more, to feed his habit. He said that even after Terblanche was released on bail he still received his drugs until he eventually moved to North End prison.
According to him the voucher system needs someone with a bank account on the outside where you are given a PIN, once the PIN is verified, an outsider will get the money and whatever else is needed.
Leach said the numbers came from a Standard Bank account which is what Arnold used.
When asked by Stander why a man would spend thousands of rands for drugs on a man who just killed the mother of his child, he said he was not entirely sure, as he never asked for the drugs, Arnold offered.
Advocate Stander asked Leach if he was aware of the plot to have him, De Ridder and Cullis killed, to which Leach replied yes.
He said he was approached by a prisoner who was given R5 000 worth of vouchers to either poison him or give him an overdose of Tik or Meth.
Leach was not comfortable or willing to name the prisoner who approached him, telling the court that he was incarcerated and did not want to divulge a name.
Proceedings were postponed until Thursday.
To follow up on the case listen to the Algoa FM News Exclusive Podcast: Journey to Justice
