The affidavit by police investigator, Rhynhardt 'Kanna' Swanepoel, has provided a glimpse into the last moments of Port Elizabeth teacher, Jayde Panayiotou and the reason he says her husband Christopher, had her killed.
Swanepoel's statement, one of five affidavits submitted by the state in opposition to Panayiotou's bail application, was read out in court on Thursday by state advocate Marius Stander.
Swanepoel said that the 28-year-old Christopher had been involved in an "extra-marital sexual" relationship with an employee at his OK Foods Store for the past three years, two years of which he had been married to Jayde.
He said they met in several places, including Panayiotou's house when his wife Jayde was at a farm with her family. Swanepoel said Panayioutou's father, Costa, had found out and warned him to stop or he would be "disinherited" He also said that the mistress, Charnelle Coutts, was not happy with his marriage to Jayde.
Swanepoel said it was sometime in 2014 that Panayiotou had approached accused No.1, Thando Siyoni, a bouncer at his Algoa Park club Infiniti, to get a "hitman". At that stage Siyoni was not aware who the target was but later it became clear it was 28-year-old Jayde.
He said they had agreed to a fee of R70 000. Siyoni would receive R30 000 and the hitman, later identified as accused No.3, Sizwezakhe Vumazonke, would receive the balance.
Swanepoel said a plan of action to kill Jayde was put into place, adding that there were two occassions where the plan had to be aborted, one when the weather was bad.
He told the court that information from a tracking device on a car hired by Vumazonke and cellphone mapping had helped to track his movements.
Dealing with the day of the murder on 21 April 2015, Swanepoel said that Vumazonke had assaulted Panayiotou "with blunt force to the head" while she waited outside her Stellen Glen Complex for her regular lift to Riebeek Girls College in Uitenhage, where she was a teacher.
He said "accused No.3" placed her in the boot of the hired car and drove to an area near Kwanobule in Uitenhage where he shot her twice in the back and once in the head.
Swanepoel said payment was later made to Siyoni and Vumazonke.
In dealing with the alleged motive, Swanepoel said it was "simple". He said Christopher Panayiotou was in "financial" difficulty and struggling to keep his wife and mistress happy.
He referred to the recent purchase of a house for more than R2 million even though he had been debt.
Swanepoel also revealed that Panayiotou is in possession of a Cypriot identity document and passport. He said the Cypriot ID would allow him to enter the country without needing to use his passport, as did "George Louca", the Cypriot national who died while on trial for the murder of Teazers boss, Lolly Jackson.
He said he believed that Panayiotou could also interfere with state witnesses in the case, including accused No1, Thando Siyoni, who is now a state's witness, as well as Coutts.
In his response to the state's allegations, Panayiotou said that even though he had a relationship with Coutts it did not affect his relationship with Jayde. He also admitted to giving Coutts gifts and taking her on lunch and dinner dates.
Panayioutou also said that their relationship was "completely irrelevant". He also rubbished claims by the state that his father Costa would have "disinherited" him if he did not end the affair with Coutts.
Turning to the state's allegations that he had a Cypriot identity document and passport, Panayiotou said that this was no secret. He added that he applied for a passport two years ago, however he was not in possession of one and had asked his attorney to inquire about it.
It came to light that a Cypriot passport was issued on 5 March, 2015, but this was still in the possession of the high commissioner.
Panayiotou reiterated that he never obtained the passport as had been alleged and had no intention of taking possession of it.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media after Thursday's court proceedings, Panayiotou's uncle, Dimitri Argyro, extended his condolences to Jayde's family.
He said that "everyone had been hoping that the bail hearing would be finalised" on Thursday. "Unfortunately next week will be another session and the law must take its course," he said.
Asked by a reporter how, as someone who loved both Jayde and Christopher, he felt about hearing details of the alleged murder in court during the bail hearing, Argyro said "obviously it is something that we cannot believe and we don't know until obviously all the evidence is put to the court."
"He's not that type of person. That's a boy that grew up in front of me."
Follow link below for full affidavit from police investigator:
