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14 Mar 2007- Cape Town - The man accused of the axe murder of his former gay partner, estate agent André Weitz, was found walking naked along a road at Plettenberg Bay, on his way to the police, the Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.
Plettenberg Bay resident Lynne Stanton told the court she and her husband were on their way home from a Christian fellowship meeting on a Tuesday night in June 2004, when they saw Bernard van Zyl, 28, his body covered in beach sand.
Van Zyl has pleaded not guilty before Judge Daniel Dlodlo and two assessors to charges of murder and aggravated armed robbery.
Van Zyl, a BSc graduate, had had a gay relationship with Weitz in Bloemfontein, but the relationship ended, with Weitz moving to the Cape.
Van Zyl is alleged to have attacked Weitz with an axe at his home at The Poplars security complex in Pinelands, Cape Town.
Saw naked man in street
He then allegedly fled in Weitz's car, and ended up in Plettenberg Bay.
Stanton told the court: "On our way home, my husband and I were going along this very dark, lonely road, when we saw something on the right-hand side of the road.
"We did a U-turn and when our headlights shone on it, we could see a white man walking in the street - and he was unclothed.
"We drove up alongside him. I asked if we could help, and he said no. We asked where he was going, he said to the police.
Stanton said the man was adamant that he did not want help, but he accepted clothing from them.
The couple then told the Flying Squad of the man.
She added: "We drove back to the man, and I asked him if he was in some kind of trouble. He said yes, and that he had stolen a car in Cape Town.
"He said we should not feel sorry for him, because he had done something bad. He explained that he'd been under drugs, and had lost control."
Identified man in the dock
Asked by prosecutor Quintin Appels what her impression of Van Zyl had been at the time, she replied: "He was distressed, but he spoke perfectly coherently."
Asked if she saw the man in court, she pointed to Van Zyl in the dock. The hearing continues on Thursday.
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