Man accused of killing Gabriela Alban faces straight murder charge
Police are to receive video footage related to the incident, and ascertain how he got into the country
GUATEMALAN murder accused Diego Novella may not have planned to kill US businesswoman Gabriela Alban, his lawyer says.
Novella, 41, is being held at Pollsmoor Prison after being charged with the murder of Alban, 39, who was found dead in a room at a luxury Camps Bay hotel.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the alleged murder involved the use of drugs and sex.
The State had initially told the court it had evidence to warrant a charge of premeditated murder, a Schedule 6 offence.
Novella’s attorney William Booth has since said that the State had decided to charge his client with Schedule 5 murder.
“Last week, the prosecution said it was a Schedule 6, which is premeditated murder. They have now indicated in writing to me that it is a Schedule 5 offence.
“Which means murder, but not premeditated murder. So, the onus is not as difficult to discharge as it is with a Schedule 6 offence,” Booth said.
Police are expected to receive video footage related to the incident, and are still trying to ascertain how Novella gained entry into the country as his passports – he has dual Guatemalan and Italian citizenship – contain no ports of entry.
Novella was expected to make his fourth appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Friday, but did not appear due to media applications to photograph and film proceedings.
The Guatemalan stood with his head bowed, murmuring to himself on the stairs below the dock as the media made submissions in court on Friday.
He then gestured to a court official that something was affecting his nose.
Magistrate Grant Engel adjourned proceedings briefly and ordered that Novella be moved to another room inside the court building.
When proceedings continued, Engel relayed that an effluent leak had occurred in the holding cells.
After listening to another submission, the parties involved agreed to adjourn until today.