In June 2005, Fred van der Vyver, a young actuary and the son of a wealthy Eastern Cape farming family, was charged with murdering his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, allegedly bludgeoning her to death with a hammer as she lay on a couch in her lounge. The case against Van der Vyver seemed overwhelming. His behaviour at the time of the murder appeared suspicious and incriminating, and a letter, penned by Inge on the morning of her death, suggested that the two had been fighting. But it was forensic evidence that seemed to prove his guilt: his fingerprints were found at the scene, one of his shoes was matched to a blood stain on the bathroom floor, and traces of blood were found on an ornamental hammer that had been given to him by the victim's parents. And yet, in one of the most sensational and controversial murder trials in South African legal history, Van der Vyver's lawyers sought to turn the tables on the police, accusing them of fabricating evidence and lying to the judge. In this book prize-winning author Antony Altbeker takes you into the heat of this epic courtroom battle. Altbeker's eye-witness account of the trial presents the reader with all the evidence and testimony of the trial, while also placing it in the context of a society and a justice system that are being stretched to breaking point.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
It's a legal thriller, a murder mystery, a social commentary, a bit of history and a travelogue of the most sensational court case of the past decade. It is exhaustively researched, beautifully written, totally mesmerising and absolutely riviting. My wife is reading it now - I'll have to fix my own dinner for the next few nights. - DEON MEYER South African literature has not seen true crime of this standard for a very long time. Antony Altbeker has married an expert's knowledge of the criminal justice system with a storyteller's flair for narrative and suspense. The result is a book that provides rare insight into the often compromised nature of our courts, yet reads like a high-voltage thriller. If you thought you knew something about the Inge Lotz murder trial, Altbeker has come, like a master decoder, to disabuse you of that notion. - KEVIN BLOOM, journalist and author Altebeker's narrative of the Inge Lotz murder trial is both shocking and riveting, and beautifully written. - PETER HARRIS, author of In a Different Time Fruit of a Poison Tree is an important contribution to understanding the textures and dynamics of certain aspects of South African culture and specifically of the machinations of the criminal justice system. Altbeker excels in his relentless and meticulous re-arguing of the Lotz murder case, obsessively picking through evidence and testimonies, like a latterday Sherlock Holmes, and bringing into play not only an astute judgment of facts and character, but also offering a compelling analysis of the degeneration of the investigative prowess of law enforcers. It is a chilling revelation of the rotten state of the administrative capacity and the professional bankruptcy of policing in South Africa. This is obligatory reading for those interested in the current state of the nation. It reads like a thriller and is utterly unputdownable. It leaves the reader with serious food for thought. It almost convinces one that fiction has become redundant in this country. - MARLENE VAN NIEKERK, author of Triomf and Agaat
Sprache
Verlagsort
Maße
Höhe: 233 mm
Breite: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-86842-333-0 (9781868423330)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
