Detectives are using cellphone mapping in their investigation of 16-year-old Franziska Blochliger’s murder in Tokai Forest, the Wynberg magistrate’s court heard on Friday.
Prosecutor Renee-Prinsloo Uys said the state’s investigation was almost complete but “one aspect was still very time-consuming”.
This turned out to be cellphone mapping, which required a police expert to travel from Pretoria.
The mapping process had already begun, but could take up to six weeks to complete.
According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which assisted the police in priority cases, the process involved mapping the use of cellphones before, during and after a crime.
To do this, police used a search warrant to obtain billing records for the phones, the locations of cellphone towers, and maps of their areas of coverage, according to an online CSIR document.
This had been used with success in many cases, to link accused to a crime scene or dispel an alibi.
Four men were being investigated for the teen’s rape and murder on 7 March.
At their last appearance, Jerome Moses and Daniel Easter were released on R2 000 and R1 000 bail respectively.
Easter covered his head with a black hoodie when he left court, shouting “you must pay if you want a photo!”
Moses, his father and lawyer rushed down the court stairs, but failed to avoid being photographed.
The two other accused, Howard Oliver, whose DNA was found at the scene, and Jonathan Jonas, did not apply for bail and remained in custody.
While some Tokai and Westlake residents came out in support of the slain teen, her father was not present. The court heard that the director of public prosecutions still had to decide where their trial would be conducted.
A post-mortem found Franziska was strangled and suffocated to death and sustained blunt-force trauma.
Sand was found in her throat and she had been raped vaginally and anally.
She had arranged to meet her mother after going jogging in the popular recreational area by herself. When Franziska did not arrive at the agreed meeting place, the family began to worry.
She was later found strangled and raped. She had been robbed of her iPhone, watch, headset and diamond ring.
The accused are understood to have been linked to the crime through witnesses and were found in possession of her belongings.
The case was postponed to 28 July for further investigation.
