South Africa: Hannah Cornelius Murder Trial Heads to High Court

Four men accused of the murder of Stellenbosch student Hannah Cornelius are to stand trial in the Western Cape High Court.

Eben van Niekerk, Nashwill Julies, Vernon Witbooi and Geraldo Parsons appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate's Court on Friday, where the case was transferred.

It was supposed to be transferred on Thursday but was rolled over to Friday due to a delay in paperwork related to the transfer.

The accused are to appear in the High Court for their first pre-trial conference on March 9.

The four are accused of murder, kidnapping and rape, following the brutal attack on Cornelius and her close friend Cheslin Marsh in May last year.

Cornelius' body was found on the morning of May 27 on the side of a road, near a wine farm outside Stellenbosch.

She was last seen alive with Marsh hours earlier, when four men approached her car in Bird Street, Stellenbosch.

Her Citi Golf is believed to have been used in an armed robbery in Northpine, between Brackenfell and Kraaifontein, on the day of her murder and is also understood to have been used in a crime in Kuils River.

The men have not yet pleaded, but at a previous court appearance in November, defence attorney Henk Carstens requested the docket to allow his clients to make an "informed decision".