Thabo Bester, the man dubbed the “Facebook Rapist”, is expected to plead guilty to murdering a Milnerton model.
|||Thabo Bester, the man dubbed the “Facebook Rapist”, is expected to plead guilty to murdering a Milnerton model in the Western Cape High Court soon.
Bester, 23, of Eikenhof in Joburg appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court Wednesday morning.
Bester stands accused of murdering Nomfundo Tyulu after allegedly luring her via Facebook.
Tyulu’s body was found at a B&B – the Ocean Breeze Villa in Sunset Beach, Milnerton – on September 21.
Bester was nicknamed the Facebook Rapist because he lured women through social media networks.
He is alleged to have used 13 aliases and has been linked to crimes in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng.
The Durban Regional Court sentenced Bester to 50 years in prison in October for raping and robbing two women.
Prosecutor Vusi Tshabalala told magistrate Jasthree Steyn that Bester intended to enter into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.
Bester’s lawyer, Chantal Gillion, confirmed that Bester – who was ushered into court under heavy police guard – wanted to admit to the allegations.
Tshabalala asked that the case be postponed so that the final charges could be put to Bester, who is expected to plead guilty to the crime in the high court.
“The case can be postponed for the indictment and then it will be transferred to the high court,” Tshabalala said.
A specific date for the transfer is not yet known.
Steyn granted the postponement to March 20.
Bester will remain behind bars at the Leeuwkop Maximum Prison in Joburg.
jade.witten@inl.co.za - Cape Argus