‘She f**king intimidated me … wa wa wa her mouth, I shot my wife in the face,’ ex soldier ‘confessed’

Former SANDF special forces soldier Fredrik le Roux, accused of murdering his wife Taryn le Roux at Westville’s Waxy’s restaurant in September has been denied bail.

Le Roux was arrested on the same day of the incident.

Onlookers said the couple had arrived at the Durban restaurant in a taxi and ordered drinks and food. At some point, it is alleged, Fredrik walked out of the restaurant and then returned and allegedly shot Taryn.

She died at the scene.

Fredrik has been in custody since his arrest. He claimed he could not afford a private attorney.

Eventually he was approved for state-subsidised legal representation.

He then applied for bail.

On Thursday, that application was argued before Pinetown magistrate Gwendolyn Robinson, who refused it.

In an affidavit before the court — presented by state advocate Krishen Shah —investigating officer Sgt Mathews Zulu said Fredrik was charged with premeditated murder.

He said the state would allege that Fredrik and Taryn were married but were “experiencing marital discord”.

She had obtained a protection order against him in May 2019.

Before the incident, he had threatened her in a voice note saying “your life is at risk”.

“On the night prior to the shooting there was a fracas between them and the police were called. They were counselled. They quarrelled again on the morning of September 15.

“They eventually went to the restaurant where they imbibed alcohol.”

They argued again. Fredrik allegedly told Taryn to “call the police again”. He then allegedly pulled out his firearm and shot her in the face at close range.

He then, allegedly, fired another round into the bar.

“The accused then reported to patrons that he shot his wife and then he made telephone calls where he nonchalantly told the person he ‘shot Taryn’.”

“I shot Taryn in the face. She doesn’t want to stop. She doesn’t want to fucking listen to me.

“I am in Westville at Waxy’s bar. You don’t want to believe me. No one wants to believe me. She fucking intimidated me…wa wa wa her mouth, I shot my wife in the face,” Fredrik was quoted in the affidavit as saying.

Zulu, in his affidavit, said Fredrik had remained at the scene and had surrendered himself when security arrived almost immediately.

His personal firearm, a .45 semiautomatic pistol, was recovered. The licence for it had expired in July 2021.

“We have a formidable case, or a stonewall case against him,” Zulu said.

He said there was CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and audio recordings of Fredrik admitting to what he had done.

He said Fredrik was a flight risk.

He had, in recent years, mainly been working as a defence contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia.

But there were no indications, at the time of making the affidavit, if he was still employed.

He had also not voluntarily handed over his passport when he was arrested.

“His passport was only handed to me on the morning of October 6 by his nominated representative who advised that he was tasked by the accused to attend to his affairs (power of attorney) and ‘wind up his estate given that he would be away for a very long time’.”

Zulu said Fredrik was, by virtue of his employment and employment history, prone to violence.

Taryn had previously laid a charge of assault GBH against him, but had not pursued this, ostensibly because she had obtained a protection order.

His previous wife had also laid two charges of assault against him, which she did not ultimately pursue.

Zulu claimed that Fredrik, apart from being a flight risk, was also a suicide risk because he had attempted to use his contact lenses to slash his neck while he was detained, awaiting trial.

In a later affidavit, Zulu said Fredrik’s claims that he was supporting Taryn’s son, were “patently untrue”.

“He had little affection for his foster son who was of a different race. He was not maintaining him.”

In court on Thursday, it was established that Fredrik’s employment had been terminated.

Magistrate Robinson refused bail, saying there were no exceptional circumstances, that he had no assets in the country and his employment prospects were questionable.

She postponed the case until February 6 next year.

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