Donovan Wolf from Jeffreys Bay was found ‘Not Guilty’ of murdering a Wavecrest resident, Clyde Stuurman, on 10 February 2021.
Judge Avinash Govindjee handed down the ‘Not Gulty’ verdict last Friday, 12 June and Wolf was discharged . The State had alleged that Wolf killed Stuurman after shooting at him in an open field.
The case carried on for five years and at the time of his arrest he was charged with premeditated murder of Stuurman. During previous court appearances, Wolf claimed he acted in self-defence, stating that Stuurman charged at him with a knife.
Judge Govindjee on Friday stated Wolf’s version was reasonably true since Wolf chased the suspect after reporting to neighbourhood watch and help was en route. The court found Wolf’s actions were in lawful self defence and the State had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Wolf did not act in self defence.
During the trial it was stated Wolf’s wife had spotted a suspicious person wearing a hoodie in the veld behind their home during a time of many break-ins in the Wavecrest suburb of Jeffreys Bay. Bullet fragments and shell cases were linked to Wolf’s firearm and it was determined that Wolf was about two and a half metres away from Stuuman when the latter was shot.
Wolf’s firearm was proven to have been used on Stuurman’s clothing. Wolf said in court he fired shots in self-defence during a struggle. He was injured on his forearm and leg. According to the state, a knife found by another person was placed at the crime scene after the incident – an incident unrelated to Wolf.
Wolf, also a Wavecrest resident, initially was arrested when he was 31 years of age and spent almost three months in custody until he was was granted bail of R5000 by the High Court in Gqeberha in May 2021. Under his bail conditions he had to hand over both his South African and German passports to the authorities (to mitigate flight risk, as he has dual citizenship). He is married with three children and is the sole breadwinner and remained on bail throughout the trial under his plea of not guilty.
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