Algoa FM News
The murder trial of Vicki Terblanche continued in the Gqeberha High Court on Tuesday with the state calling Charissa Roets to the stand.
Roets, the twin sister of Arnold Terblanche's ex-girlfriend Krystal Wiggill, was shown WhatsApp conversations between her and her sister that took place on 1 September 2021 where the sisters were discussing plans to call KWExplore to complain about Vicki being a bad agent who never answers her phone.
Roets told state Advocate Marius Stander that Arnold wanted Vicki to lose her job to make life more difficult for her, so she had to pretend to be a potential client. Vicki eventually got fired.
The state then read more WhatsApp messages between the sisters dated 20 October 2021, two days after Vicki’s murder.
Krystal, who was with Arnold in Johannesburg at the time messaged Roets just before 3 pm asking for a favour.
According to the transcripts read out in court, Wiggill asked Roets to phone the police to say that she had heard about a domestic violence incident at Vicki’s residence and to tell SAPS that there was illegal activity going on in the house.
Roets, who admitted on the stand that the messages were indeed between her and her sister said Terblanche was going through a divorce, wanted full custody of their boy and believed Vicki was doing drugs.
It was her understanding, that Arnold needed evidence or proof to strengthen his case.
Wiggill further instructed Roets to tell police to focus on evidence of illegal activities and to inform them that a minor was living there.
At the time, Vicki’s son was being cared for by the twins’ mother, who lived in Arnold’s home in the same complex.
An hour later, Roets was still waiting for police and asked her sister if they were expecting ‘this female’ to come home, to which Wiggill replied, “No xx".
When police still did not come to the house, Arnold’s domestic worker, Sharon Yelani was roped in. In her message to Wiggill, Roets said she would tell the police how she gave Yelani some sugar water to calm her down (with a laughing emoji).
Wiggill replied that Arnold would prep Yelani well the next morning as she was instructed to tell police how Vicki had overdosed the year before.
“We need to somehow get this changed from a domestic violence case to something else because they (SAPS) just won’t hear it with the domestic thing,” said Roets.
“Arnold and I are talking and if she doesn’t surface by tomorrow morning or Friday we will need to fly back and open a missing person’s report” replied Wiggill.
Roets still had no luck getting hold of the police and sent her sister a screenshot of how she had called them six times between 3.11 pm and 5.10 pm.
The following day on the 21st Wiggill informed her sister that Yelani was on board and would go to Vicki’s house in the morning as she had keys.
According to the conversation, as soon as Yelani entered Vicki’s house, Wiggill said her sister could go inside and was instructed to take photographs, which she did.
The conversation continued with Roets stating that she nearly vomited from the smell in the house and that Vicki’s dogs had no food or water.
Roets told her sister that she felt anxious in the house and did not want to be there in case Vicki came home.
“She won’t” Krystal replied.
During cross-examination, Leach's defence Advocate Jodine Coertzen asked Roets if she was tasked to find dirt on Vicki to assist Arnold Terblanche to which she replied yes.
Coertzen wanted to know if Roets did not suspect anything untoward at the time, to which she said no, but in hindsight, yes.
The state said it had only three more witnesses to call to the stand before closing its case against Reinhardt Leach.
