Henderson Trial: Court Told of 'Threats' and Car Swap Before Shooting

Sandi Kwon Hoo John-Ross Crossbery Henderson, accused of murder, is alleged to have threatened to "take care of" the victim and i...

Sandi Kwon Hoo

John-Ross Crossbery Henderson, accused of murder, is alleged to have threatened to "take care of" the victim and is thought to have exchanged vehicles prior to the fatal shooting of Kimberley businessman Jayson Afrique and the attempted killing of his wife, Micayla Afrique.

A total of ten bullets were fired at Jayson and his spouse when they were nearing the entrance of their home on Black Street, New Park, on July 31, 2024.

Henderson is being accused of murder, attempted murder, trying to submit a false report to the authorities, and interfering with or hindering the administration of justice.

A witness named Mariam Rajah, who works at Kimberley Pharmacy, provided testimony in the Northern Cape High Court stating that Henderson exchanged vehicles with her coworker, Shaylon Tobias, before the murder.

She mentioned that Tobias had a friendship with the person accused.

Henderson went to the pharmacy in his BMW on July 12, 2024, and gave Tobias his car keys. He requested her car keys and departed with her white Volkswagen Polo.

Two Volkswagen Polos observed in the vicinity of the murder scene were marked with a red flag on the Community Policing Forum’s (CPF) WhatsApp group, although the license plates remained unidentified.

Rajah mentioned that upon returning from lunch, Tobias requested Jayson's home address.

Jayson was my cousin. I told her that I wasn't aware but that I would look into it. I never questioned why she required his address. She sent me a reminder on July 13. Later, I let her know that he was staying in New Park without revealing the specific location.

She mentioned that on July 15, Tobias once more requested her the street address.

Tobias mentioned that JR (Henderson) intended to teach the 'kingpin' a lesson since he assisted Monique, who was his girlfriend then, in relocating while JR was in Johannesburg. Tobias advised me to tell Jayson to 'be cautious.'

Rajah mentioned that Jayson's nickname was "Keenan King".

She mentioned that Tobias never provided an explanation for why she was driving the defendant's BMW.

His car was equipped with a registration holder but lacked a license plate.

She mentioned she found out about her cousin's passing on August 1, 2024.

Tobias reached out to me with words of sympathy. I never encountered the defendant again.

Cellphone activity

Lieutenant-Colonel Hanlie Conradie, a cellphone analyst, mentioned that calls from multiple numbers associated with Henderson were detected at various cellphone tower sites in Kimberley during the time of the event.

One of the devices owned by the defendant was taken when he was arrested, and a second mobile phone was discovered at the location of the incident. A SIM card replacement occurred on one of the mobile numbers.

Conradie mentioned that WhatsApp interactions could not be verified since they appeared as data messages and calls.

The witness, Werner Muller, stated that he was with his girlfriend when he heard the gunfire on July 31, 2024, prior to 9 p.m.

We observed CPF member Dodds Pringle's bakkie in the video footage and also went to the location.

He mentioned that he lost the videos after he and his girlfriend both upgraded their mobile phones.

"I went to retrieve the plastic containers that had been used to cover the cartridges and handed them over to the police," Muller said.

Lawyer Theunis Barnard is acting on behalf of the State, while Herholdt Robertson is the attorney for the defendant.

Deputy Judge President Mmathebe Violet Phatsoane delayed the case until March 2 to 6, 2026.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).