There is no physical evidence to link
Melvin Volkwyn to the death of one-year-old Orderick Lucas, a court heard on Wednesday.
But while the state conceded its case is based on circumstantial evidence, it said Volkwyn could not be trusted outside jail as he had a previous conviction for breaking his bail
conditions.
This was heard in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court where Volkwyn is applying for bail.
Volkwyn, 40, a hairdresser, was charged with defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping and the murder of little Orderick of Eerste River.
His legal aid defence attorney reminded the court that the cause of death could not be confirmed by pathologists and thus there was no evidence pointing to murder.
Orderick’s body had been badly decomposed when it was found in a drain on 2 April, eight days after he went missing.
‘CAN’T BE TRUSTED’: Melvin Volkwyn, 40
State prosecutor Nathan Adriaanse conceded that the state’s case was circumstantial, but said the accused had done everything in his power “to get rid of evidence”.
He also had a pattern of lying, and the case would be looked at in its totality, Adriaanse said.
He asked the court to ignore the 515 signatures on a petition for Volkwyn to be released on bail as names had been repeated, fake names were used, there were no signatures accompanying some of the names.
And two of the fake names Volkwyn had previously used in court, Charlton Felix and Anthony Volkwyn, were also on the petition.
UPSET: Mother Davideen
Adriaanse said two of Volkwyn’s four previous matters for theft and drug possession were dismissed because he did not come to court.
And in 2011, he was convicted for contravening his bail conditions after failing to appear in court.
Volkwyn earlier stated that he lived with his pensioner father, whom he supported.
But his employer would testify that he lived with her until 25 March, when he simply stopped coming to work, causing her to lose clients, Adriaanse said.
Adriaanse said a witness would testify that she had last seen Orderick alive at 1am on 25 March in the care of Volkwyn.
She allegedly saw Volkwyn dragging a large suitcase in the direction of the drain where Orderick was found as she waited for a bus, and that he returned without the suitcase.
At this, Volkwyn showed emotion for the first time. He looked behind him at his supporters, and shook his head.
To conclude, the State said that Volkwyn asked to be kept at Mfuleni Saps because he feared being raped at Goodwood Prison “was absurd” because he had in fact been threatened in the holding cells at court.
Adriaanse said Mfuleni police no longer wanted Volkwyn and referred the matter to the Department of Correctional Services.
Orderick’s mother Davideen Lucas, 28, a self-confessed drug addict, said she left her son with her friend Volkwyn. Volkwyn is back in court on 12 June.