Thabo Bester has pleaded guilty to the charges against him; considering striking a deal with the State
|||The man dubbed the Facebook rapist has pleaded guilty to the charges against him and is considering striking a deal with the State, the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court heard this week.
Thabo Bester, 23, of Eikenhof in Joburg, is accused of murdering model Nomfundo Tyulu, whose body was found at a B&B – the Ocean Breeze Villa in Sunset Beach, Milnerton – on September 21 last year.
He is alleged to have used 13 aliases and has been linked to crimes in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng.
The Durban Regional Court sentenced Bester to 50 years in prison in October for raping and robbing two women.
He was nicknamed the Facebook rapist because he lured women through social media networking.
At a previous court appearance in November, the State indicated that two more charges would be added.
Bester, dressed in a crisp white shirt and blue jeans, was brought to court yesterday amid heavy security for an appearance in connection with Tyulu’s murder.
About 10 correctional services officials stood at points in the courtroom when Bester’s case was called.
Prosecutor Natalie Johnson told magistrate Jasthree Steyn that the investigation had not been finalised, adding that witness statements relating to the new charges had not yet been finalised. Johnson requested that the case be postponed for seven weeks.
Bester’s attorney, Wimpie Strauss, did not object to the request for a postponement, but asked that it be marked as a final postponement for further investigation.
He explained that his client was considering a plea bargain with the State.
Strauss also requested that his client be moved from the maximum security section of Leeukop Prison to the Medium Security Section so he could continue his studies.
He did not say what his client was studying.
Magistrate Steyn refused Bester’s request to be transferred to another section of the prison and also declined to mark the postponement as final.
He postponed the case to March 7.