Sarah Lee Naidoo drops her bail application amid ongoing murder case

In a dramatic turn of events, Sarah Lee Naidoo has abandoned her bail application in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, where she faces murder charges for the death of Julian Ramiah. The case has been postponed for further investigation, with key forensic reports still pending. After both parties concluded their arguments regarding the bail application for murder-accused Sarah Lee Naidoo, she unexpectedly reversed her decision and abandoned the application at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.

Naidoo, 29, faces serious charges for allegedly stabbing and murdering Julian ‘Julz’ Ramiah during a violent altercation at his Bloubergstrand apartment on September 1, 2025. On Thursday – where parties were expected to make their closing arguments -Naidoo made a brief court appearance, during which her legal aid lawyer advised the court that her client had abandoned the bail application. Naidoo made a brief court appearance, during which her legal aid lawyer advised the court that her client had abandoned the bail application.

The matter has been remanded to May 12 for further investigation. State prosecutor Adiel Jansen confirmed that the investigation had a number of reports and statements still outstanding in its investigation. Jansen confirmed the post mortem report had been received but certain forensic investigations were outstanding and included witness statements, the blood spatter analysis, DNA, and subpoena applications relating to cellphone communications.

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Jansen confirmed the state would also request a reconstruction expert to form part of its case against Naidoo. “There are quite a few things and those things by its nature take time (to gather),” Jansen submitted to the court before the postponement for further investigation was agreed upon. Naidoo will remain in custody at Pollsmoor Prison and her next court appearance will take place via audio visual remand (AVR) the court said.

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