It’s been a rollercoaster week with regards Philani Ntuli, the man who was accused of the kidnapping and murder of Durban escort Siam Lee.

Last month, it was reported that Ntuli had passed away from cancer while awaiting trial, although some doubts were later cast on those reports.

Siam’s case is probably best summarised in this video, which also features Siam’s mother, Carmen ‘Nan’ Lee.

Before we get to Nan’s reaction, let’s get some details via IOL:

The Durban High Court struck the murder case off the court roll on Tuesday after the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed to the court that he had died of skin cancer. The 30-year-old accused died on June 21.

…with the police and the National Prosecuting Authority [previously] unable to confirm that he had indeed died, it raised speculation that he had faked his death, in an elaborate effort to escape justice.

At the time of his death, he had been out on R40 000 bail.

In court, Nam spoke of her hurt at the fact that Ntuli would never face justice, adding that she had been abused by his family in prior court appearances.

This from a TimesLIVE report:

Nan wasn’t the only person left disappointed:

When state prosecutor Cheryl Naidu made an application to strike off the Philani Ntuli murder and kidnapping case in the Durban high court motion roll on Tuesday, it “pained her to do so”.

“It’s a crying shame that the complainants and Siam will never have a voice in court,” Naidu said in court after the results of fingerprint analysis confirmed that Ntuli, who was accused of murdering young Durban escort Siam Lee, had indeed died two weeks ago…

“The investigating officer warrant officer Rajan Govender and the state worked very hard on the case. We have been robbed of an opportunity to present a compelling case which we were confident would have been successful,” Naidu said.

The criminal matter may have been put to rest, but the court of public opinion won’t hold Ntuli in a favourable light.

[sources:iol&timeslive]