Exclusive: Man Gets 15 Years in Jail for Killing Lover, Leaving Child, 6, With Body
- A Western Cape man has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in front of their child
- In an exclusive Briefly News interview, Western Cape NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the accused intended to kill his girlfriend
- Despite her cries for help, the deceased's body was found in her home at the Rosedale informal settlement the next morning
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GEORGE - The George Magistrate's Court handed a 15-year jail sentence to a Pacaltsdorp man in the Western Cape for the murder of his girlfriend at their home in June 2020.
The court heard that Collin Heyns murdered his girlfriend, with whom he lived at an informal settlement in Rosedale after she refused to have sex with him.
Source: Getty Images
Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Regional Communications Manager, Eric Ntabazalila, told Briefly News that the convict left the victim's body with their six-year-old child.
"Heyns strangled his girlfriend when she denied his request to have sexual intercourse," said Ntabazalila.
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Simple case of lovers quarrelling
He added that at the time, neighbours shunned the victim's screams and dismissed her cry for help as another case of the lovers bickering, as was reportedly often the case whenever a fight broke out between the pair.
"They were used to hearing the pair fighting and believed it would eventually stop. However, after murdering partner in the presence of their six-year-old child, Heyns fled the home," said Ntabazalila.
Botha's body was only discovered by neighbours the following morning. While it's unclear whether the child remained next to the body the entire time, Ntabazalila told Briefly News that Heyns handed himself over to the police later the same day.
"Despite entering into a not guilty plea during the trial, the court determined that the accused planned to kill the deceased, therefore handing him a prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars," explained Ntabazilila.
Harsh sentences warranted
In another chilling case brought to the attention of Briefly News by Ntabazalila, the Western Cape High Court sentenced a 55-year-old man to two life terms for the kidnapping and murder, among other charges, of an eight-year-old boy, Reagan Gertse.
Source: Original
Ntabazalila said the court slapped Jacobus Petoors with a 12-month jail term for kidnapping and concurrent life terms for sexual assault and murder. The accused was released on parole after serving seven years of a 12-year sentence for a crime he committed in 2011.
Because of the crimes he was arrested for in March last year for committing against Reagan, the convict's remaining four-and-a-half-year sentence came into effect.
"In addition to other orders, the court decided that the two life sentences should run concurrently with the remainder of the 12-year sentence the accused is now serving. He has also been declared unfit to obtain a firearm," added Ntabazilila.
Bail postponed for alleged Limpopo Christmas Day Killer
Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that the bail application of the man accused of wiping out his entire family amid a feud at their home outside Malamulele in Limpopo, Polokwane, on Christmas Day last year has been postponed.
Enoch Ndou, 52, allegedly shot and killed seven Ndou relatives, among them four children, identified as Rendani (12); Dakalo (8); Ronewa (4); and Wanga (1), after a fight broke out over the family home in Jimmy Jones Village.
The accused's late brother's sons, Mpho and Ndivhuwo, and the latter's pregnant wife, Portia Mabasa, were the other three victims. According to a SABC News report, Enoch was reportedly at odds with his elder brother's sons over the house, said to have belonged to the family's late patriarch.
Source: Briefly News
