Stabbing victim’s last cries for help relived

THE desperate cries for help that came from a fatally injured Rehoboth resident who had been stabbed with a knife – allegedly by her husband – were relived in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.

Telling Judge Kato van Niekerk about the cries that he heard from Melinda van Zyl (37), who died at Rehoboth on November 23 2002 after she was stabbed eight times with a knife, was Police Constable Antonius Aipumbu. He also related to the court how he saw blood spurt from Van Zyl’s neck, and how her daughter, who was about six years old at the time, was at Van Zyl’s side, witnessing this bloody scene.Aipumbu was called to testify as a witness for the prosecution when the trial of Van Zyl’s widower, Prollius van Zyl (33), continued after a break of four months yesterday.Van Zyl’s trial first started in April last year, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of murder.However, when he testified about the events that led to his wife’s death, it emerged that Van Zyl’s plea fell far short of an unequivocal admission that he had inflicted the eight stab wounds found on his wife’s body when an autopsy was done after her death.He told the court that he accepted that he was responsible for stabbing her, but could not actually remember having stabbed her.As a result, the Judge changed his plea to not guilty.Van Zyl was referred for psychiatric observation after his defence lawyer, Bradley Basson, told the court that he had found it virtually impossible to properly consult with his client, since Van Zyl appeared to be unable to recall what had taken place.A State psychiatrist found Van Zyl fit to stand trial and to understand court proceedings, however.He was also found not to have been suffering from a mental illness at the time of the incident, and Judge Van Niekerk endorsed those findings with an order to the same effect on March 7.The result of this order was that the State was left with the task of proving its case against Van Zyl.Aipumbu is one of the witnesses that Deputy Prosecutor-General Antonia Verhoef will be calling as part of the State’s case.Aipumbu told the court that at about three o’clock in the morning on November 23 2002, he was about to go to bed in his room at the Police barracks at Rehoboth when he heard cries from outside.The barracks were next to the house where the Van Zyl family lived.He had known the Van Zyl couple for about three years at that stage; he knew Prollius van Zyl as a quiet man who used to keep himself busy repairing fridges and was not in the habit of picking quarrels with other people, the Constable testified.”He was just an ordinary, quiet man,” he recounted.Aipumbu said he heard Melinda van Zyl calling the name of another policeman who used to be a friend of her husband.”Fanuel, Fanuel, asseblief tog, kom help my.My man steek my dood,” she cried out in Afrikaans, he told the court.(“Fanuel, Fanuel, please come and help me.My husband is stabbing me to death.”) She also called out to the Police for help, crying out that she was being stabbed with a knife, Aipumbu said.He said he saw Melinda and Prollius van Zyl standing in their yard, with their daughter by her mother’s side.The child was crying.When Van Zyl saw him, he walked away, Aipumbu added.He said he saw Melinda van Zyl falling to the ground, but getting up again and approaching him.He saw that she appeared to be staggering, and that she was injured and losing a lot of blood.There was blood on her nightdress, and he saw blood spurting from her neck.Aipumbu said he noticed that she was injured only when she climbed over a wire fence that separated the premises of the Police barracks from the Van Zyls’ property.The child was still with her.Aipumbu helped the woman onto a stoep of the barracks before he rushed to summon help.An ambulance came to fetch her, but he later heard that she had died.Aipumbu said he was also present when Prollius van Zyl was arrested at a fuel station close to his house the next day.When Van Zyl was told that he was being arrested on a charge of murdering his wife, he reacted by telling the policemen arresting him that his wife was still alive, Aipumbu said.Van Zyl told the Police that she was alive and at home, the Constable testified.The trial continues today.Van Zyl remains in custody.He also related to the court how he saw blood spurt from Van Zyl’s neck, and how her daughter, who was about six years old at the time, was at Van Zyl’s side, witnessing this bloody scene.Aipumbu was called to testify as a witness for the prosecution when the trial of Van Zyl’s widower, Prollius van Zyl (33), continued after a break of four months yesterday.Van Zyl’s trial first started in April last year, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of murder.However, when he testified about the events that led to his wife’s death, it emerged that Van Zyl’s plea fell far short of an unequivocal admission that he had inflicted the eight stab wounds found on his wife’s body when an autopsy was done after her death.He told the court that he accepted that he was responsible for stabbing her, but could not actually remember having stabbed her.As a result, the Judge changed his plea to not guilty.Van Zyl was referred for psychiatric observation after his defence lawyer, Bradley Basson, told the court that he had found it virtually impossible to properly consult with his client, since Van Zyl appeared to be unable to recall what had taken place.A State psychiatrist found Van Zyl fit to stand trial and to understand court proceedings, however.He was also found not to have been suffering from a mental illness at the time of the incident, and Judge Van Niekerk endorsed those findings with an order to the same effect on March 7.The result of this order was that the State was left with the task of proving its case against Van Zyl.Aipumbu is one of the witnesses that Deputy Prosecutor-General Antonia Verhoef will be calling as part of the State’s case.Aipumbu told the court that at about three o’clock in the morning on November 23 2002, he was about to go to bed in his room at the Police barracks at Rehoboth when he heard cries from outside.The barracks were next to the house where the Van Zyl family lived.He had known the Van Zyl couple for about three years at that stage; he knew Prollius van Zyl as a quiet man who used to keep himself busy repairing fridges and was not in the habit of picking quarrels with other people, the Constable testified.”He was just an ordinary, quiet man,” he recounted.Aipumbu said he heard Melinda van Zyl calling the name of another policeman who used to be a friend of her husband.”Fanuel, Fanuel, asseblief tog, kom help my.My man steek my dood,” she cried out in Afrikaans, he told the court.(“Fanuel, Fanuel, please come and help me.My husband is stabbing me to death.”) She also called out to the Police for help, crying out that she was being stabbed with a knife, Aipumbu said.He said he saw Melinda and Prollius van Zyl standing in their yard, with their daughter by her mother’s side.The child was crying.When Van Zyl saw him, he walked away, Aipumbu added.He said he saw Melinda van Zyl falling to the ground, but getting up again and approaching him.He saw that she appeared to be staggering, and that she was injured and losing a lot of blood.There was blood on her nightdress, and he saw blood spurting from her neck.Aipumbu said he noticed that she was injured only when she climbed over a wire fence that separated the premises of the Police barracks from the Van Zyls’ property.The child was still with her.Aipumbu helped the woman onto a stoep of the barracks before he rushed to summon help.An ambulance came to fetch her, but he later heard that she had died.Aipumbu said he was also present when Prollius van Zyl was arrested at a fuel station close to his house the next day.When Van Zyl was told that he was being arrested on a charge of murdering his wife, he reacted by telling the policemen arresting him that his wife was still alive, Aipumbu said.Van Zyl told the Police that she was alive and at home, the Constable testified.The trial continues today.Van Zyl remains in custody.