Panayiotou bail verdict remanded until Friday - As it happened

Price has indicated that he is happy with Beeton giving her finding tomorrow with a full explanation and reasons submitted to record.

Stander has indicated he concurs.

Beeton is now addressing Christopher Panayiotou.

She points out that she is aware that Price has other obligations, and that she had committed to finalise the matter, but she was concerned.

Beeton says that she would like to present tomorrow, with the full reasoning submitted at a later date.

Stander stands up and says, with regards to the dropped application (to view the affidavit), the affidavit he was reading from was in any case the investigating officer’s.

Beeton says she has a draft judgment in front of her, but she does not know if she can proceed.

She points out that she was merely asking for clarity.

“I am bound by the affidavits before me, but I am entitled to ask questions for clarity," she says.

Price is also taking issue with the confession of accused number 1, Thando Siyoli, and says he needs to get clarity over the confession, as “this is not in affidavit”.

Beeton is addressing the issue of the motive.

Beeton tells Price to wait, as she wants to check something before they proceed.

Beeton is reading through a thick file in front of her. The court is silent waiting for her to proceed.

And the Magistrate has ducked back out.

Court 26 is packed again as the bail application for murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou, following a short power outage.

A heated back-and-forth between Prosecutor Marius Stander and Advocate Terry Price led to Stander revealing in court, just before the power tripped, that an affidavit in the State's possession may point to a motive for the murder of Jayde Panayiotou, just before the power tripped.

Price has revealed that he will file an application to see the affidavit, stating that the State has now waived its privilege by referring to the document in court.

The court is just waiting for Magistrate Abigail Beeton to return.

News24's Derrick Spies says people are filing back into the court now.

Report from court staff is that the court recording machine was unaffected by the trip.

Magistrate Beeton has re-entered the court.

Court is adjourned for 15 minutes, cutting short a heated back-and-forth between Prosecutor Marius Stander and Advocate Terry Price.

Court staff are quickly reviewing the recordings.

Power has tripped in the courthouse. This means the recording machine has stopped working.

It is unclear, at this stage, if it is planned loadshedding in the area.

“Who is the State going to call to say that my client wanted to get rid of Jayde because he could not afford her?

“If there have been statements made to that effect, I want to see it.”

With regards to financial records...

Price asks, “Why did Stander not ask for the books before?”

He turns back to the magistrate, and says they are asking, very carefully, for her to ignore the speculation.

Price now addressing Siyoli as a 204 witness.

He says with 'all due respect', with what Beeton has in front of her, the State should not be too happy with their case.

"If accused number 1 folds, their case folds."

“All the State is producing is speculation,” says Price.

“There is a smell in this courtroom and I suspect that it will continue into the trial.”

Price now questions the State’s logic about his client’s inheritance:

“What they have said is a lie.

“Where is the logic in buying a house for Jayde, if he wanted to get rid of his wife?”

Stander refers to the Investigating Officer's statement which says that Panayiotou stood to be disinherited if he continued with the affair.

Beeton says she still does not understand. “Why not just get divorced?” she asks.

Stander says it is an option but it is an easier option just to kill his wife.

Beeton says that Panayiotou has indicated that he was married with an Anti-Nuptial Contract without accrual (accumulation).

"Normal people in this position just get divorced," she says.

She asks Stander if he has an answer to that...

Stander now turns to the issue of the Cypriot travel documents.

Stander says that, in connection to the travel documents, he knew that the documents were in the possession of the defence and the State was not opposed to the fact that the documents were locked in a safe.

“Although Siyoli was arrested at the Infinity Club, he was not arrested by the investigating team.”

Stander now reveals that there is in fact a deal that has been struck with Siyoli and he is now a section 204 witness.

Stander: “At no stage do we physically need the handset to track Panayiotou’s previous whereabouts.”

Christopher Panayiotou listens intently as the prosecution and defence go back and forth.

“Should the State ever want to check if my client was where he was not supposed to be, the phone can be handed over to the State.

" The state could then check the GPS to determine where he is."