INLSA
Gerald Rosselloty appears in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on charges of murder, arson and rape. Picture: Sharika Regchand
When a Hilton man arrived at his burning simplex and told police that his girlfriend was trapped inside the building, he showed absolutely no concern or emotion.
Instead, “it was like chatting about the weather”.
This was the testimony of Warrant Officer Andrew Jackson in the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday during the trial of Gerald Rosselloty, 40, for the murder of his lover, Nokwazi Mkhize.
Rosselloty denied murdering Mkhize on April 17, 2010, and then setting her body alight.
The State alleged that another woman with whom he was in a relationship had given birth to their son a day earlier.
Having visited that woman in hospital the day of the murder, he returned to his simplex, Callanish Gardens, in Hilton.
Mkhize, who was living with him, was at home.
The State said Rosselloty assaulted her, leaving her unconscious.
Early the next morning, he placed Mkhize on a mattress, which he put in the bin of his bakkie. It was unknown if she was dead or alive at the time.
Rosselloty, who owned a septic tank business, then drove to an isolated spot about 2km away and offloaded the mattress and Mkhize.
He doused the mattress with a flammable substance and set it alight before returning to the simplex, which he also set on fire.
Jackson testified that he had been called out to the simplex a week before the murder.
On arrival he learnt that Mkhize had been assaulted but did not want to lay a charge. Instead, Rosselloty wanted the policeman to make Mkhize take her belongings and leave.
Jackson said that on the night of the fire, when Rosselloty arrived at the burning simplex, he was drinking a beer in his vehicle.
He first said that he had been on his way to Greytown when he was contacted about the fire, but later contradicted himself, saying he had been en route to Ashburton.
“He said he had left his girlfriend in the simplex before he left… he didn’t look very concerned… there was no emotion or concern in his voice… it was like chatting about the weather,” Jackson said.
A few hours later, police were called out to a plantation near the simplex after a woman walking her dogs stumbled upon Mkhize’s charred remains.
Jackson said that when he spoke to Rosselloty about the discovery of a body, all he wanted to know was whether he was a suspect and if he was going to be arrested, without first establishing if the remains were Mkhize’s.
“He (Rosselloty) said I must give him some time to come to the scene as he first needed to draw money to buy toothpaste, etcetera, to take with him after his arrest,” the policeman said.
Rosselloty also faces an unrelated charge of raping a six-year-old relative in 2006, when she stayed over at the simplex.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
