Gabriela Kabrins' family come face-to-face with accused murderer Diego Dougherty

Home Top

'Then who is going to clean your toilets?' Kelly Osbourne attacked for racist Trump remark about Latinos on The View before melting down during commercial break, sobbing backstage and apologizing
Trump will take center stage in first Republican debate as big names including Perry, Santorum and Graham fail to make the cut
New Planned Parenthood sting shows Texas boss promising to harvest intact fetus organs to order and bragging about clinic's profits
Obama will channel JFK in speech promoting his Iran deal on the anniversary of Kennedy's nuclear proliferation treaty announcement
Is our universe FAKE? Physicists claim we could all be the playthings of an advanced civilisation
Sinatra's night of passion with Jackie O... and why he boasted she was only his second greatest conquest
Horrifying road rage attack caught on camera shows California man being run over with his own car as suspect cheers
EXCLUSIVE: Joe Jackson, 87, suffered stroke after 'taking three Viagras' in Brazil (and when he was having his life saved in hospital he ordered the party to go on)
Troubled RHOBH star Kim Richards 'is HOMELESS and was living in her car' at time of her shoplifting arrest at Target
Tragedy as girl, 3, is found 'beaten to death' and her own mother is arrested for the crime alongside her boyfriend
Inside the lavish five-day safari wedding of 46-year-old multi-millionaire equity boss to model, 23, at the Serengeti Four Seasons
Tomatoes and berries won't ripen in the fridge, but peeled garlic loses its flavour in the cupboard: Do YOU know which fruits and vegetables should be chilled and which are better at room temperature?
As it's revealed air conditioning in offices is too chilly for them... Why women really are the colder sex
Taylor Swift really won't shake it off: Singer hits out at Spotify AGAIN calling streaming service a 'start-up with no cash flow'
The spicy food that can keep you alive: People who eat fiery items each day reduce chance of an early death from cancer or heart disease
Seen for the first time in a century: Mormon church releases photos of 'seer stone' used by religion's founder to decode Egyptian scripts that became Book of Mormon
UCLA student labeled 'pathetic' and 'idiotic' by 'sexist' trolls after writing an article about why women should get tampons for free
Is the 'plane window' thought to be from MH370 actually a sewing machine? Police on Reunion Island are not convinced the white object is part of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
Russia launches Arctic land-grab: Moscow submits bid to the UN to claim vast territories as battle to assert jurisdiction over the region intensifies
B-52 bombers were sent on 44-hour non-stop flight to Australia to show-off American military might to China
The ultimate cover-up! Beauty guru reveals how to completely conceal acne, lines, and dark circles - and earns TWO MILLION views for the incredible transformation tutorial
Distraught family of American marketing executive come face-to-face with billionaire playboy accused of her drug-fueled murder in luxury hotel as he appears in court
Families of Newtown massacre victims would split $1.5M in proposed lawsuit against Adam Lanza's mother's estate
Capsized boat of missing teens has now vanished as Coast Guard admits they didn't bring the empty vessel back to shore in search for the boys

Prime suspect Diego Dougherty, 41, appeared in court this morning in Cape Town, South Africa, as he was charged with pre-meditated murder
He was still wearing the same blue forensic overall given to him by police after his clothes were confiscated
Gabriela Kabrins, 39, was found dead in hotel room in Camps Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa, and had been brutally sexually assaulted
Family sources say he is heavy cocaine and crack user and has been regularly bailed out of trouble by influential family
Dougherty is from billionaire Guatemalan family and also holds Italian passport, court heard
Dead woman's mother Doris Weitz, an interpreter who worked at OJ Simpson trial, and her stepfather, a retired LA judge, were in court

By Toby Selander In Cape Town For Dailymail.com and Elaine O'flynn For Mailonline

Published: 07:08 EST, 4 August 2015 | Updated: 14:44 EST, 4 August 2015

View
comments

The family of murdered US marketing executive Gabriela Kabrins came face to face with her alleged killer as he appeared in court in South Africa this morning.

International playboy Diego Dougherty, 41, appeared in Cape Town Magistrates Court charged with the murder of his girlfriend.

Standing quietly in the dock, Dougherty showed no emotion throughout the proceedings until prosecutor Carmen Daniels accused him of pre-meditated murder, when he looked visibly stressed.

Gabriela Kabrins mother, center, was supported as she left the Cape Town Magistrates court after coming face to face with her daughter's alleged killer. She was accompanied by her husband Alexander Williams, a retired Los Angeles judge

Accused: Diego Dougherty appeared in Cape Town Magistrates court Tuesday morning charged with the murder of his girlfriend Gabriela Kabrins, who was severely beaten and sexually assaulted before she was killed

Diego Dougherty is taken to Pollsoore prison in a prison truck with other inmates after Tuesday's hearing

Victim: Gabriela Kabrins (left) was found dead in a luxury South African hotel. She is seen with her former business partner Martín Llorens (right)

Ordeal: The dead woman's mother Doris Weitz (center) was accompanied by her husband. Gabriela's stepfather, Alexander Williams. He retired as a judge in 2008, and she was formerly a court interpreter

Upset: The dead woman's mother and step-father were in court to see Dougherty for the first time since he was charged with the 39-year-old's murder

Members of Kabrin's family - including her mother and step-father - were joined by US Consulate staff and detectives from Camps Bay for the hearing.

They had traveled from Los Angeles, where the dead woman lived, to see Dougherty, her boyfriend, face-to-face.

But he entered no plea or declaration and did not speak to the dead woman's family.

The court heard that a post-mortem report was still not available and that additional charges could also be brought against Dougherty.

Dougherty listened to proceedings through a Spanish interpreter. Daniels said that bail would be opposed but his defense did not make an application for him to be freed.

During the proceedings, which were delayed to wait for the Spanish interpreter, it emerged that he holds passports from Guatemala - where his billionaire family own the country's biggest cement firm - and from Italy.

Speaking after proceedings were briefly adjourned, Dougherty's defense attorney William Booths told Daily Mail Online that conditions in the cells where his client were being kept were 'quite bad', with 28 prisoners being held in one space.

He gave no indication of how Dougherty might plead, instead focusing on his disgust that his clothes had been taken away.

The lawyer had given him a blue tracksuit, a blue shirt and black shoes just before the hearing, as he had been left wearing a blue plastic overall given to him by police on Friday since his clothing was confiscated for tests.

'I have never seen anything like this before, it shouldn’t happen that an accused is forced to wear a plastic overall, it is unfair to his rights,' Mr Booth said.

Loss: Gabriala Kabrins and business partner Martn Llorens. Her parents were among those who gathered in court this morning to watch her accused killer Diego Dougherty hear of the charges he faces

Killed: Police say 39-year-old LA-based Kabrins was severely beaten and suffered an horrific sexual assault before being strangled to death at the five-star Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotel last week

Dougherty will be remanded in Pollsmoor Prison until his next court appearance on Friday.

He was arrested after Kabrin's body was found along with a large quantity of cocaine in their hotel room in the affluent Cape Town beachside suburb of Camps Bay last Wednesday.

Yesterday it emerged he was being treated in a prison hospital for 'emotional reasons' following at least two fainting spells since his arrest.

Police say 39-year-old LA-based Kabrins was severely beaten and suffered an horrific sexual assault before being strangled to death at the five-star Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotel.

The dead woman's mother and stepfather are figures on the Los Angeles social scene.

They have donated generously to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Williams was for 24 years a superior court judge.

Yale-educated, he is a native of Virginia, where his mother was mayor of Richmond in the 1980s, and he was a judicial officer in the Naval Reserves as well as a former federal prosecutor.

After retiring from the bench in 2008 and joined a mediation practice. He has two daughters from a previous marriage.

In court: Diana Weitz was an interpreter during OJ Simpson's 1995 trial for the murder of his wife and her lover, She is seen in court with defense witness Rosa Lopez (left).

Influential family: The Dougherty Novella family are known for their philanthropy. Thomas Dougherty (far left) is seen at an ethical companies award in 2014 in New York

Speaking out: Thomas Dougherty (above) told Daily Mail Online: 'All I can say is this is a tragedy from any way you look at it.'

Daily Mail Online revealed that prime suspect Dougherty is a member of the Dougherty Novella clan - one of the most powerful families in Central America, whose cement business is estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

The family's charitable foundation recently teamed up with Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid to open a sports-themed school for disadvantaged children.

Dougherty's older brother Thomas Dougherty, president of Cementos Progreso - Progressive Cement - was photographed posing next to Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez at a school in Guatemala last year.

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina was also at the high profile event.

Even the Guatemalan national soccer stadium is named the Cementos Progreso Stadium, after the company. One of the country's biggest companies, it was founded in 1896 and how does business across Central America.

Family sources tell Daily Mail Online that murder suspect Dougherty is the 'black sheep' of the super-rich clan - a drug-addicted playboy who has never worked and who is regularly bailed out of trouble by his family.

Investigators in South Africa believe Kabrins's death resulted from a drug-fueled sex session gone wrong.

Dougherty was arrested after he was spotted wandering on a nearby beach following the discovery of Gaby's body.

It is believed Kabrins, who was of Mexican descent and spoke fluent Spanish, originally met him in the US when they were younger and they recently reconnected through social media.

A friend said she was in love with Dougherty and regularly visited him for long periods in Guatemala.

The pair first met at Pepperdine University in Malibu and Dougherty spent a number of years in the US - where the Dougherty Novella family owns homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

Family: The alleged killer's sister Cecilia (far left) and brother Thomas (far right) meeting Cynthia Eagle, Guatemala's minister of education and Sergio de la Torre, minister of economy

Scene of crime: Police at the luxury Camps Bay Retreat close to Cape Town in South Africa, after the murder of Gabriela Kabrins

Husband: Dr Blake Albans, a pediatrician, was married to the dead woman. The marriage ended in divorce and he is now re-married

But it is believed Dougherty is now barred from enter America due to various run-ins with the law.

Official records show that he has at least two convictions for driving while intoxicated while living in the United States - both in Texas, first in April 1995, then in June 1996.

Kabrins had married, to Blake Albans, a pediatrician. The marriage ended in divorce and he is now remarried, and works as assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at UCLA's West Los Angeles office of pediatrics.

The source said they were 'shocked' by what happened, but not completely surprised that 'things ended badly' for Dougherty.

His brother, Thomas Dougherty, told Daily Mail Online: 'All I can say is this is a tragedy from any way you look at it.

'For me it's best if this is not played out in the news. This is a tragedy and people have a right to privacy.'

But the family source revealed: 'Diego had a very privileged upbringing and became a spoiled brat. He has never had a job and lived the life of a playboy, full of vices and eccentricities.

'In Guatemala he has got himself into a lot of minor trouble but he always got out of it thanks to the family influence.

'His school friends say that when he drinks he turns into a savage. In recent years he has become a heavy user of crack and cocaine.'

Although police say they believe he was taking part in a drug deal, as 1lb. of cocaine was found in his room, sources in Guatemala insist that cannot be the case.

'He is a user, not a dealer. He doesn't need the money,' said one.

Another source close to the family, who knows Dougherty personally, said: 'There is no way he is involved in dealing. He has a lot of money from the family.

'That cocaine was probably for personal consumption. From what I hear he is a heavy user – in central America drugs are cheap, so people who use them, use huge quantities.'

The source added that he believes drugs and mental health issues are more likely to be factors behind the alleged murder.

According to police, Gabriela had been sexually assaulted with a curling iron, while a message had been smeared on her body with excrement.

The source said: 'Diego can fly off the handle and get aggressive, but I would never imagine the guy could have done such a thing.

'I have grown up around his family, I have partied with him a lot - he is a party boy, he is a dope, but he never came off as a psycho.

'He seemed more like a loner. I could see something like this coming from mental health conditions.'

Held: Dougherty is in the prison hospital at Pollsmoor correctional facility near Cape Town

Home: Gabriela Kabrins lived at this Los Angeles apartment block, where friends said she was dedicated to her dogs and was not the type of person to be seen partying

Friends of Gabriela, who had run her own PR firm, say she was dedicated to work and 'not a party animal at all'.

But with the couple's final trip being at a hotel that charges up to $1,000 per night, some have speculated she was attracted to a life of luxury.

'I was surprised she was with him,' continued the source.

'She doesn't seem to have much in common with him, she doesn't seem like she would be into drugs.'

Speaking of the Dougherty Novella clan, the source added: 'They are very decent and low-key. But Diego was always different.

'You never heard his brothers and sisters talking about him, you never saw him socially with his family. It seemed like he was the black sheep.'

Dougherty's grandfather, Carlos F. Novella, founded the family business, which has for decades controlled the cement market in Guatemala and enjoyed great political influence.

The company reportedly has an annual revenue of around $500m. The family is not only hugely powerful in the business world but they also do a lot of philanthropic work.

Dougherty's sister Cecilia is the president of the Carlos F. Novella Foundation, the company's charity arm focusing on education and development in Guatemala. His brother Thomas

The family has hired William Booth, one of the best known criminal defense lawyers in South Africa, to represent Dougherty.

Founder: Carlos Novella started the Cementos Progreso company. His grandson Diego Dougherty is part of the controlling family but has never worked, family sources told Daily Mail Online

Booth told Daily Mail Online that Dougherty had come to South Africa, then left the country and returned shortly before Kabrins was killed.

He said his client is now being treated in the hospital wing at Pollsmoor Prison for 'emotional issues,' after fainting at least twice since his arrest.

Booth confirmed that Dougherty came from one of Guatemala's most prominent families.

The lawyer said he will be court with Dougherty for a preliminary hearing. No plea will be entered.

He called him Diego Novella, but he is known as Dougherty, as that was his father's name. His mother's name was Novella, which is not normally used.

'Diego Novella was holidaying in South Africa with Ms Kabrins,' Booth told Mail Online. 'They were romantically involved. They had been seeing each other, but I don't know for how long.'

Despite reports the suspect does not speak English, Booth said he has been able to have an initial interview with him but would not reveal how they planned to plea.

He said: 'I am still investigating the circumstances of the case and do not yet have all the evidence that the police may have to it is not appropriate to comment on the merits of the case at this stage.

'I have interviewed him but need to follow up with further interviews.'

Dougherty was charged with murder on Friday and is being held in jail before his next court appearance on Tuesday.

According to local reports he was due to be interrogated by the head of the police's investigative psychology section.

Gaby was a graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and founded and her own marketing and advertising firm, Conexión in 2002 with motivational speaker and Latin American-TV personality Martín Llorens.

The company – whose clients included the Ford Motor Company, TJ Maxx, Bank of America and Payless Shoesource - closed in 2012 because the 'owners have decided to pursue other opportunities and adventures,' a press release said at the time.

Pricey: Police said that they discovered a pound of cocaine in the hotel room where Kabrins was found dead

The marketing executive was found inside her hotel in Cape Town last Wednesday, as police said they have arrested a 41-year-old Guatemalan man

They produced a segment that appeared on the top rated Spanish language morning show 'Despierta America' on the Univision network and also worked with ESPN and MTV.

However, Gaby fell into financial difficulties. She broke her back in May, 2013 and the resulting medical bills left her strapped for cash.

In April of 2014 she told the Santa Monica Daily Press that she had every intention of paying her bills but they were leaving her stretched.

Llorens posted a Facebook tribute to his friend: 'I have loved you for a thousand years. I will love your for a thousand more.

'In memory for my friend, my partner, my teacher and my mentor, your soul rest in peace. I love you forever.'

In a separate message, he said: 'My Dear Gaby, Rest in peace. Love you forever. In your light I learn who I am. I will love you forever.'