State witness tells how orgy ended in death

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Johannesburg - His head wrapped in duct tape, bruised from the metal pipe used to beat him, Barney van Heerden suffocated after a sexual encounter turned into a brutal robbery at his home. This was the evidence heard by the Johannesburg High Court sitting at Palm Ridge on Monday on day one of the trial of three men accused of murdering Van Heerden. On Friday, one of the three – Maxwell Nyathi – turned State witness and received a 20-year sentence, four years suspended, for agreeing to testify against his co-accused, Mthokozisi Ndlovu and Bheki Maseko. Nyathi told the court his own version of the orgy that ended in Van Heerden’s death. Nyathi said that on the day in mid-September 2011, he had been at the Berea flat he shared with Ndlovu and Maseko. Van Heerden had phoned Maseko, asking if he wanted to come over.

Maseko and Van Heerden had been in a relationship for “a while”, but it remained a secret, said Nyathi.

After agreeing to a meeting, Maseko had allegedly asked his two flatmates to help him rob his lover, who he believed kept money at his Orange Grove home.

Maseko had asked if he could bring the two with on the visit, and Van Heerden had agreed.

Nyathi told the court that the original plan was for two of the men to overpower Van Heerden, surprising him while he was having sex with the other.

They arrived at Van Heerden’s home before sunset, and were all invited in. Van Heerden offered them wine, and as the evening went on, the group smoked a dagga joint in the sitting room.

Eventually, Maseko began fondling Van Heerden, and all four men ultimately ended up in the bedroom.

It was alleged that during the sexual encounter, Ndlovu grabbed Van Heerden from behind, throttled him in a choke grip and forced him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Maseko untied Van Heerden’s shoes, removed the laces and started tying him up.

Nyathi admitted to the court that he had helped roll Van Heerden onto his abdomen so that his hands could be bound. He began going through Van Heerden’s pockets, removing his iPhone and taking a digital camera.

They had asked Van Heerden where he kept his money, and Ndlovu had allegedly knocked him on the back of the head with a metal pipe to get him to talk.

At this point, Van Heerden was still alive and conscious. Ndlovu pulled out a roll of tape from his back pocket, which he and Maseko wrapped around Van Heerden’s face before looting the house, taking a laptop, some necklaces and a few gadgets.

Nyathi claimed that he had warned Maseko that Van Heerden might suffocate, but was told they had to leave immediately. They had fled to nearby Louis Botha Avenue and boarded a taxi.

Van Heerden died of suffocation and was found the next morning by his domestic worker.

Leonard Cindi, the lawyer for Maseko and Ndlovu, argued that Nyathi’s claims were fabricated. He said his clients would argue that they had left before any attack, and that Nyathi had returned with a Nigerian man to commit the murder and robbery.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

* Van Heerden’s murder was the first case identified by The Star in what police believe is a series of killings of gay men across Gauteng and the Western Cape. Last November, police said the gang were targeting gay men.

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The Star