Zimbabwean man found guilty of murdering French national in Noordhoek

A Zimbabwean man was found guilty of the 2022 murder of French national Pierre Bretonnes in the Western Cape High Court on Monday, October 6.

Trevor Moyo, who was arrested in Hout Bay on Saturday, October 1, 2022, faced several charges, including murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the ends of justice, and being in contravention of the Immigration Act.

This followed the discovery of Mr Bretonnes’s body in a shallow grave in the garden of his Gertie Way home in Noordhoek on Friday, September 30, 2022 (“Body found in shallow grave in Noordhoek,” Echo, October 1, 2022).

Mr Bretonnes had been missing since Thursday, September 8, but was only reported missing by one of his staff members at the end of that month.

At the time, the Echo reported that, after discovering the body, detectives and crime scene experts combed the property, and there had been an indication of a struggle in the house and an attempt to cover up the crime scene.

Investigating officer Detective Captain Jeremy Marten said a forensic analysis of the house using luminol, a chemical that glows blue when it reacts with blood, revealed drag marks leading police to the garden where Mr Bretonnes had been buried.

At the time of his arrest, Mr Moyo was found in possession of some of Mr Bretonnes’s property, including a Yoco machine he had used to withdraw money from Mr Bretonnes’s account by tapping his bank card.

Detective Marten said Mr Moyo had also used Mr Bretonnes’s bank card at a Hout Bay bar, and images of the bar were found on Mr Moyo’s phone, placing him at the scene where the money had been withdrawn.

In an interview with the Echo after court proceedings, State prosecutor Advocate Bonginkosi Maki said Mr Moyo pleaded not guilty to all charges except for being in the country illegally.

Investigations showed that Mr Moyo had withdrawn about R140 000 from Mr Bretonnes’s account by tapping his bank card on a Yoco machine linked to an account that Mr Moyo had access to.

He said private security footage also showed that Mr Moyo was the last person seen with Mr Bretonnes on September 7. The footage captured Mr Moyo leaving Mr Bretonnes’s home the following day on a motorbike, and Mr Bretonnes was not seen again.

The case has been postponed to Monday, November 24, for sentencing.