WINDHOEK – A young man from Leonardville, who was only 17 years old when he slit the throat of his two-month pregnant girlfriend, was sentenced to an effective 30 years in jail this week by Windhoek High Court Acting Judge Kobus Miller.
David Elrico Kasupi, 22, was convicted on a charge of murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act for killing Lady Daire, 21, by slitting her throat in January 2015 at Leonardville.
Judge Miller said the offence of murder is a serious one that deserves a severe sentence. He continued that the brutal manner in which the deceased was killed has sparked outrage in society.
The fact that Kasupi lured the deceased to her death with a text message that she should fetch her belongings is aggravating, the judge remarked.
In his judgment, the judge said Kasupi’s failure to take the court into his confidence by not testifying in his own defence to answer some questions and disproving some of the evidence the state adduced, was fatal.
Kasupi, after at first denying that he killed the deceased and that he only came across her in a footpath close to her house, made a sudden turnabout and confessed to the killing after the court found him guilty.
This, the judge said, was a ploy to feign remorse. According to Judge Miller, the convict showed no remorse and did not even ask for forgiveness from the mother of the deceased or her family members.
He sentenced Kasupi to 35 years’ imprisonment, but suspended five years for a period of five years on condition that Kasupi is not convicted of murder during the period of suspension.