A 38-year-old man who pleaded guilty to murdering his former girlfriend by stabbing her 36 times with a sheep shear wants the court to have mercy on him.

Shaun Tieties told Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen that he found God in prison and is no longer the same man he was before. Tieties pleaded guilty to a charge of murder, a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and a charge of attempting to defeat the course of justice. He admitted stabbing Susanna Tierspoor to death at Farm Lekkerwater in the Mariental district on 30 September 2021. He further admitted injuring the deceased’s six-year-old son during the frenzied attack and disposing of the shears and a bloody T-shirt. The State represented by Maria Shilongo accepted the plea and he was accordingly convicted.

According to Tieties, he and the deceased were in a romantic relationship for three years and he supported her financially. However, he said, on the day of the incident Tierspoor broke up with him through text messages and he decided to confront her about it. When he arrived at the farm where she was employed as a live-in domestic, he immediately started stabbing her. He could not remember how many times or where on her body he directed the stabs. He also said he cannot recall that the boy was clinging to his mother, but admitted the injuries were caused by him. Tieties told the Court that he was blind with anger over the way the deceased ended their relationship and wanted to kill her. 

Through his Legal Aid lawyer Cliff Simaata, the accused told the Court that he is extremely remorseful for his actions. Shortly after the deceased’s death, he apologised to her mother for killing her child and contributed N$800 towards the funeral arrangements. Simaata told the Court that while a custodial sentence will be unavoidable, the sentence should not destroy the accused. Additionally, he said, the accused pleaded guilty from the get-go and did not waste the Court’s time. This, he said, should be an indication to the Court that his client has genuine remorse. 

Further, Simaata argued, the accused has spent two years and eight months in pre-trial custody which the Court must take into consideration. He argued that a guilty plea is mitigating as it avoids a costly and lengthy trial wasting State’s resources. It would be in the interest of justice to encourage accused persons who are in fact guilty, to plead as such with an incentive of a lesser sentence, Simaata urged. He asked the court to sentence Tieties to 25 years on the murder conviction with five years suspended for five years on the normal conditions and 12 months each on the assault and defeating convictions. He further asked that the sentences run concurrently with the sentence on the murder conviction.  -rrouth@nepc.com.na