Crucial evidence was presented to the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, 19 July 2023. A small DNA trace connected a glove found at the crime scene where Ukrainian hiker Ivan Ivanov was fatally stabbed, to a pair of blood-stained trousers believed to belong to one of the suspects.
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During the trial, police forensics analyst and geneticist Clarissa Muthukarapan testified that the tiny DNA trace from the glove matched the DNA found on a pair of blood-soaked trousers discovered in a drain on the roadside after the murder.
Sinaye Mposelwa, Matthew Giyo and Franklin Isaacs are accused of killing Ivanov on 27 July 2019, as he was hiking from East Fort to Chapman’s Peak, as reported by News24.
Following his arrest, Mposelwa admitted to the crimes and on Monday, 24 July 2023, he entered a guilty plea to charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
During his confession, Mposelwa disclosed that he and several other men were present at the East Fort hiking trail with the intention of robbing unsuspecting passersby. Armed with knives, they were prepared to use force against anyone who resisted.
On the other hand, Giyo and Isaacs have pleaded not guilty. A Hout Bay couple, who noticed the three suspects behaving suspiciously on the trail earlier, raised the alarm when they saw them running with a new backpack. The men ran towards Hout Bay down Chapman’s Peak Drive.
Ivanov, who was in Durban for agricultural wheat product inspector training, had visited Cape Town to hike Chapman’s Peak. He carried a well-prepared rucksack for hiking emergencies but didn’t anticipate encountering three robbers.
Ivanov resisted the robbery, resulting in him being stabbed in the head, chest and back before being robbed.
The trial will continue on 14 August 2023.
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