The high court of Johannesburg, sitting at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court, issued warrants of arrest for two former Eldorado Park police officers who failed to appear in court on Monday.
Caylene Whiteboy and Vorster Netshiongolo failed to attend a court session alongside Whiteboy’s lawyer, Solomon Tshivhase.
However, their co-accused, Simon Ndyalvane, was present in court.
The warrants became effective after the accused failed to appear before Judge Cassim Moosa.
Down syndrome
The three ex-police officers are accused of the murder of Eldorado Park’s 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies, who suffered from Down syndrome, in August 2020.
Whiteboy and Ndyalvane were later dismissed from the Eldorado Park police station.
Accused number three in the matter, former detective Sergeant Voster Netshiongolo, resigned shortly after the incident.
Moosa said: “A warrant of arrest is authorised for the accused, and their bail is provisionally restricted to the state. This matter is postponed to May 21 for trial.”
The state prosecutor, advocate Johan Badenhorst, was expected to continue to grill Whiteboy.
Autopsy findings challenged
She challenged the state when she questioned the accuracy of the autopsy findings while she was being cross-examined on May 3.
Badenhorst stated that the postmortem results revealed that Julies had been shot with a firearm.
“The report shows features of Down syndrome, shotgun pellet wounds to the chest and abdomen, and the doctor specifically refers to pellets,” said Badenhorst.
Whiteboy questioned: “Yes, and how did the doctor see where all these pellets went because the body wasn’t cut open? I want to know why the left neck is bleeding.”
However, Julies’ mother lambasted the testimony of the former police officer accused of killing her son, saying his death has turned into a mockery.
Bridget Harris said this after accused number one, Whiteboy, took the stand at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court on Monday to give her version of events for the first time in four years, in March.
