Celine Cowley

Celine Cowley (2001 - 2006)

Brief overview:

Celine (4) was found dead, two days after she went missing, buried in a shallow grave in a neighbouring yard, in Ravenswood, Parow, on 30th July 2006. It was established that she had been raped, sustained stab wounds to her head, and strangled to death.

In September 2006, James Barnes (37), who rented a room in the Cowley family home, was convicted of Celine's murder after pleading guilty on charges of rape, sexual assault and murder. Barnes then later changed his plea to not guilty.

He was granted transfer from Pollsmoor prison to Goodwood prison, by acting judge Ismail Jamie, for his safety. During the hearing, Johan Solomons, representing Barnes, told Judge Jamie that he would also be challenging his client's guilty plea and finding in a lower court. The case was postponed to December 14th 2006.

At the end of August 2007, the court ruled James Barnes not guilty of the rape and murder of Celine. Although DNA material was found in Celine's vagina, it couldn't be connected with certainty to any specific person. A forensics expert explained that the genetic material was insufficient to determine identity. The evidence relating to the visit to the crime scene had already been thrown out by Acting Judge Robbie McDougall.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.vn/QOLLd
• http://archive.vn/tgLnf
• http://archive.is/vMklZ