Murder-accused Corrine Jackson ‘enraged’ as trial begins
|Published
Murder-accused, Corrine Jackson, file image
Cape Town - Murder-accused Corrine Jackson left the courtroom in whispers after she caused the court bench to jerk and lift during proceedings as her trial began.
The State is set to prove that Jackson stabbed her estranged girlfriend, Nadine Esterhuizen, 21 times and that she attempted cutting her head off.
Jackson is facing charges of murder, assault and contravening a protection order and has since pleaded not guilty.
The much-anticipated trial began after a marathon six-year wait for witnesses to testify what happened on the fatal day.
The trial has been set down for two days this week and by Thursday a number of the witnesses would have informed the court what transpired in September 2017.
The assault charge and protection order relates to an incident that took place at Strandfontein Pavilion before the murder where Esterhuizen sustained a cracked skull and her cellphone flung into the ocean.
Esterhuizen was a Grade 12 pupil at Athlone High School.
During her bail application in 2017, following the murder, Jackson claimed in a blow by blow account that she had acted in self-defence.
But she was placed on suicide watch.
Laurenzo Adams was the first person on scene after visiting the residence in Colorado Park in Mitchell’s Plain which he had rented with Esterhuizen’s sister at the time.
He had discovered Esterhuizen’s body
He reiterated what had been explained during the bail application, that Jackson had been found inside the toilet which had been locked, which commonly was left unlocked.
Two daggers were also found at the scene.
Nadine’s sister also took the stand and was emotional during her testimony.
When Jackson stood up from her bench, it lifted while proceedings were under way.
Linda Jones, of the Mitchells Plain Residents Association and also part of the court watch said they were pleased that the case could finally start and believed Jackson had been enraged, causing the bench to lift.
“She got up and the whole bench lifted because of the anger within,” said Jones.
She did so almost by knocking the screen inside the courtroom.
“Nadine’s sister was very emotional, but she composed herself. Laurenzo also did well, he told his story from the beginning to the end.”
An additional witness is expected to take the stand.
Last year the State called for a Section 32 A to be set. The section disallows any further postponements in the trial after a number of delays.
The case has been hit with several days in the past five years, with Jackson seeking medical help at psychiatric and psychology facilities, including being ill with Covid-19 and changing her legal representation.
Jackson has since been deemed fit to stand trial.
She was denied bail at the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court in 2017 and six months later during a separate application which was brought to the Cape High Court by her former attorney, William Booth, it was granted.