Cape Town - The man accused of murdering veterinary surgeon Dr Natheem Jacobs has made his first appearance in court.
Jovan Williams, 38, handed himself over to Athlone police for the murder carried out on March 2.
The SPCA vet, 27, was stabbed to death after he went outside his Garlandale home to investigate a noise.
When he arrived at his wife’s car he reportedly saw the victim trying to steal the wheels.
He was stabbed and died at the scene.
According to court documents, a cellphone was found at the scene with the profile pictures of the accused.
Jacobs’s mother, Zulykha Jacobs, said: “On Wednesday community members accompanied us when we went to court with placards written, ‘Justice for Natheem’.”
She said the accused did not look remorseful.
“He didn’t even make eye contact with us in court, and he still claims he is innocent. We knew who he was. We heard who killed my son but we waited for the police to do their job.
“I’m very impressed with the way the investigating officer conducted the investigation. He made sure he got all the evidence he needed not to bungle the case. If you bungle a case it will be thrown out of court. Now we must wait for the law to take its course.”
A crime prevention gathering and commemoration of Jacobs was held by Garlandale residents who gathered on the corner of Athlone and Conningsby streets.
Jacobs would have turned 28 on Tuesday.
Al Jama-ah PR councillor Shameema Salie said residents had lost faith in the police.
“The arrest of the suspect took too long; we had been reporting that he was seen roaming the streets. We decided to put the poster up about Williams on social media and that is how he decided to hand himself over to the police.
“People have no confidence in the police. We had been asking the police to patrol the streets, especially during load shedding, but that has not yet happened, even after the murder.
“The Athlone police crime statistics don’t reflect the actual cases that happen here; there are many burglaries and robberies. The other day there was a body found on 4th Avenue and the police took forever to come out.”