The accuracy of the police's administration and record keeping came under the spotlight in the Pete Mihalik murder trial on Tuesday.
Advocate Louise Luterek grilled Anti-Gang Unit Sergeant Leatitia van der Horst on the case number that was used to bag and tag a cellphone seized from a suspect on the afternoon of Mihalik's murder. A resident had switched the engine off because the music was still playing, and his foot was on the brake.
After their arrival at the scene of Mihalik's murder, Van der Horst went to B.I.G. backpackers and asked for CCTV footage. She watched it and took a picture of the suspected shooter off the monitor with her cellphone. Luterek pointed out the cellphone entered into evidence in the Mihalik case that was seized from Biyela was recorded as a December case, with the"12" in the reference number indicating this.
Van der Horst also had to confirm commissioning some of the early documents when Khumalo and Biyela were taken into custody and charged.