Dean Charnley was shot and killed in a road rage incident in Kloof last year, allegedly by Anthony Edward Ball, who is on trial for murder in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. | FACEBOOK
Durban — The wife of slain Dean Charnley, who was shot and killed in a road rage incident in 2022 on Everton Road in Kloof, said all she wants is for justice to be served.
Robyn Charnley spoke to the Daily News after the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday postponed its ruling on whether the defence should be granted access to the investigation diary in the docket.
The matter did not sit for long in court as Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo said the court was not ready to hand down its ruling.
Magistrate Khumalo further postponed the matter to the beginning of February. He told the accused, pensioner Anthony Ball, that his bail was extended. Ball was charged with the murder of Dean and has pleaded not guilty.
Towards the end of last year, the defence applied to be given access to the investigating diary in the docket. This resulted in the trial taking a back seat. Furthermore, Robyn said she had nothing to say with regard to the defence’s application.
“All I want is for this case to be over and for justice to be served,” she said.
Moreover, in Ball’s not guilty plea he said he was on his way home, and while on the M13 Dean tailgated him and on Everton Road Dean stopped his Nissan in front of his Subaru and got out. He said Dean allegedly came towards him shouting and violently hit the roof of his car with his hand.
A warning shot was fired out of the Subaru’s open window by Ball before Dean reached him. Ball alleges that Dean grabbed him through the window and partially opened the door, grabbing the gun, which he still held on to. The second fatal shot had gone off inadvertently during a scuffle.
In August last year, the defence indicated that it would be bringing such an application before the court, after the cross-examination of a State witness, Timm Wegmann, where it emerged that Robyn had access to the witness’s statement and that this statement had only been made to police a month after the incident.
The application seeking relief from the court came after State Prosecutor Rowen Souls, handling the trial, refused the defence access in an answering affidavit he made in reply to Ball’s founding affidavits asking for access.
Senior State Advocate K Singh said there was no reason for the sought relief to be granted.
“The applicant has given his defence to the charges, how can he now say he can’t prepare his defence without access to the diary,” said Singh.
“A pretrial conference was held in which the defence in essence indicated that they were ready for trial to proceed. That confirmation of readiness indicates he has been given all he needs to continue with the trial,” said Singh.
The trial is set to resume in mid-February.
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