A resident of Otjomuise in Windhoek was found guilty of murder read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act by Windhoek High Court Acting Judge Orben Sibeya last week.
According to the judge, there is no doubt in his mind that Benjamin Strong (56) intended to kill his girlfriend, 62-year old Johanna Resandt by stabbing her at least 12 times with a knife in the chest, causing her
death.
He allegedly also tried to kill another person who tried to come to the aid of the deceased by stabbing him at least seven times all over his boy and pushing him, causing him to fall and lose consciousness.
Sibeya, however, found that Strong did not attempt to murder Phillip Gadi Matsaya when he stabbed him several times.
He did convict him on the lesser charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. With regards to the two counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the judge found that the assaults were not severe enough to warrant a conviction as such but constituted common assault.
On the charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice for allegedly placing the knife he used to stab his victims in a bucket of water to destroy evidence, Sibeya said the State failed to prove the allegation and Strong must be given the benefit of doubt and acquitted.
Strong pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of his trial and offered a blank denial, saying he was not at the house of the deceased when the violent acts were committed.
At the end of the State case, Strong through his State-funded lawyer Milton Engelbrecht brought a 174 application for discharge, which the judge denied.
According to the indictment, the deceased and Strong were in a relationship, as they lived together as husband and wife, and that during the evening of 16 September 2017, the deceased, the accused and the complainant in the attempted murder charge were socialising together at the deceased’s residence in Otjomuise. An argument then erupted between the deceased and Strong, and he assaulted her by kicking her and beating her with his fists.
It is further alleged that another argument broke out between Strong and the deceased during the early morning hours of the next day, 17 September, where Strong then stabbed the deceased several times.
When Matsaya tried to intervene, he was also stabbed several times and pushed against a stove, causing him to black-out.
The two assault charges relate to incidents on the same evening, where it is alleged he assaulted the deceased with the intention to cause her grievous bodily harm. The defeating charge emanates from him allegedly putting the knife he used to stab the deceased and Matsaya in a bucket of water with the intent to destroy evidence.
According to Sibeya, while Matsaya was a single witness, he is an eyewitness to the assaults and there is evidence on which a reasonable court, acting carefully, may convict. The trial continues on 9 June for presentencing procedures and Strong remains in custody.
State advocate Ian Malumani is prosecuting.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na