Petition Stops Bail for Murder Accused
Friday 31 May 2019 Thanks to 33,683 signatures at Change.org, bail has been denied to or refused by the men accused of the murder of David Wolfromm, 38, callously slain after a surf early this month.
REMEMBRANCE: Friends and family held a paddle-out for Wolfromm at Witsands Photo Sam Tome
According to the popular petition website, "detectives working on the case stated they had never seen a petition of this size before".
It's little solace to the family and friends of the Scarborough sustainable engineer and father of three, whose body was found in his burned out Nissan X Trail after he was attacked coming out of a surf at Witsands, but at least it shows that the collective voice of the community can exercise power over the justice system when it is relevant and needed.
The two accused, when arrested, were already out on bail for the hijacking of a young couple who were watching the sun set at Misty Cliffs in January, according to an article in the False Bay Echo.
Witnesses had linked Mark Williams, 33, and co-accused Wilson “Stoffel” Wilschut, 30, to Wolfromm's murder. Wilschut was arrested in Ocean View on Saturday May 11 after a special police task team had been set up by police and a private security firm.
WHITE SANDS: Witsands in the foreground, with Misty Cliffs in the background. Photo Staines
Wilschut appeared in court on Tuesday May 21. He abandoned his bail application after the court heard about the results of the online petition by the Kommetjie Neighbourhood Watch (Kommwatch) aimed at preventing bail. Williams was arrested the next day in Philippi. During his brief appearance in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday 23 May, he did not apply for bail. Future court appearances will see the two appear together, the article said.
"Wilschut and Williams face charges of murder, hijacking, malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice. Mr Wilschut faces an additional charge of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Mr Williams was supported by family members in the back of the court."
During his appearance, Williams had to step back into the dock for the Misty Cliffs kidnapping case, joined by a co-accused, Shane Lakay. Williams and Lakay, with Wilschut and a fourth person, "are charged with hijacking, kidnapping and robbing a young couple who had been watching the sunset at Misty Cliffs on January 2".