2018 Year in Review: #SiamLee murder case angers Durban community

A massive search was launched for the 20-year-old after she went missing from outside a home in Margaret Maytom Avenue in early January.

NOW READ: Public outcry following Siam Lee's murder

Family, friends, community members and concerned residents took to social media to call for her safe return.

Tragically though, Lee's badly burnt body was found in a sugarcane field in New Hanover in the Midlands.

Police had to conduct DNA tests to confirm the identity.

A 29-year-old man was later arrested in connection with Lee's disappearance and murder.

LISTEN: Voice note played during Siam Lee case

After a marathon bail application spanning several months, the businessman was eventually released on R40,000.

The case has since been transferred to the Durban High Court.

The State believes the accused found Lee's details on an adult website where she advertised her services as a  sensual masseuse.

ALSO READ: #SiamLee case shows how sex work can never be made safe: NGO

The State will argue that Lee broke off contact with the man, leading to him wanting to kill her.

He allegedly grabbed Lee from outside the Durban North property where she worked and kept her captive in his Assegai home, near Hillcrest.

The State says the suspect, who cannot be named because he faces another charge of rape in a separate case, held Lee captive in his home for more than 24 hours before driving her to New Hanover, dousing her with petrol and setting her alight.

He is due back in the Durban High Court in March next year.