VIDEO: Zain Killian appears in court for Charl Kinnear murder

The man accused of killing Anti-Gang Unit cop Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear made his first appearance in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Zane Killian, 39, has been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful interception of communication.

The case was postponed and Killian, who has not yet applied for bail, will be back in court on October 5.

National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila says the State will oppose a bail application.

Kinnear, 52, was found slumped behind the wheel of his Toyota Corolla after he was shot three times in the head outside his home in Gearing Road, Bishop Lavis, last Friday.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi told the Daily Voice that Killian was busted in Johannesburg on Wednesday night.

Speaking to the media at court on Friday morning, Eric Bryer, the instructing attorney for the defence, said the arrest warrant was issued to his client on September 20. The Hawks went to his house on Monday night and took him in for questioning in Germiston at the Hawks’ offices.

He said Killian was questioned for three hours until midnight. He was then held at the Midrand police station’s holding cells overnight.

Before his death, Kinnear had secured a guilty conviction against two members of the notorious The Firm gang and was the lead investigator in several high-profile investigations including the extortion case involving nightclub security boss Nafiz Modack, the murder of top criminal lawyer Pete Mihalik and a firearm licensing fraud case which led to the arrest of cops in Gauteng.

*Additional reporting by Weekend Argus

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