WINDHOEK – A Keetmanshoop resident who cold-bloodedly strangled his ex-girlfriend’s elder sister pleaded guilty to charges of murder, theft and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Gregorius Laurentius Kido, 32, also pleaded guilty to assault by threat in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
Kido who turned 32 in January this year faced a charge of murder, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances of which one was withdrawn, one count of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one count of assault by threat.
During his plea explanation, Kido through his Legal Aid lawyer, Willem Visser, informed the court he met the deceased, Petrina Hendrina Isaak, whom he knew as the sister of his ex-girlfriend Elfriede Fisch who is the mother of his three children.
He said that he enquired from Isaak about the whereabouts of Fisch and when she refused to tell him he became angry and started to assault her. He further admitted that he strangled Isaak with his bare hands and stole her cellphone.
Kido however pleaded not guilty to the second count of robbery, saying that he never took a cellphone from Fisch as alleged, but admitted that he severely assaulted her.
He also admitted he threatened the complainant in count 5, Nicodemus Nehale by throwing stones at him causing Nehale to believe that he (Kido) would assault him.
The summary of substantial facts in the indictment stated that during the late night hours of January 31 2012 or the early morning hours of February 1 2012 in Tseiblaagte in Keetmanshoop the deceased was on her way home by foot when Kido pounced on her, beat and kicked her and strangled her with his bare hands and stole her sandals and cellphone.
Isaak died on the scene due to manual strangulation. It is further stated Kido believed that Isaak was to blame for his ex-girlfriend ending their intimate relationship and/or causing her to apply for a protection order against him.
It is further stated that Fisch and Nehale went looking for Isaak, but instead found Kido who attacked Fisch and grabbed her cellphone.
When Nehale tried to assist Fisch, Kido threatened to stab him with an open knife causing him to run away and Kido then continued to assault Fisch. After Judge Naomi Shivute accepted Kido’s plea, he took the stand to testify in mitigation of sentence.
He told the court that he is 32 years old and has three children aged 11, 9 and 5 years respectively. He also said that he regrets what he did and asked the court and the public for forgiveness.
Kido begged the court for a lenient sentence as he has children that he needs to look after. Defence counsel Visser in his submissions told Judge Shivute that there is no denying that the murder charge is serious especially since an innocent person lost her life. He said that the fact that Kido freely and voluntarily pleaded guilty is an indication of his remorse.
He said the incident was a result of the stormy relationship he had with his ex-girlfriend and asked the court to make the inevitable period of incarceration as short as possible as Kido was “a productive member of society” before his arrest and not a burden on society.
He asked Judge Shivute to seriously consider ordering the sentences on the theft and assault charges to run concurrently with the murder charge. Elfriede Fisch was called as a state witness in aggravation.
She told the court she is afraid for her life. “No matter how long he will be in custody I don’t know what he’ll do when he is released,” she said. She asked the court for protection and said that Kido has never apologised to her or her family.
State Advocate Anita Meyer told the court that the attack on Isaak was brutal as is attested to by the autopsy report.
She said the report lists 36 abrasions concentrated around the face and neck area that are vulnerable parts of the body.
“The only sin of the deceased was her courage in not disclosing the whereabouts of her sister,” she said and added that the violence perpetrated against this “frail and slender woman” induces a sense of shock in society.
“Society is crying for protection especially for the vulnerable members such as women and children and the courts are duty bound to provide this protection,” she said. Meyer further told Judge Shivute that persons such as Kido who are capable of carrying out such a vicious attack on the sister of his ex-girlfriend must be removed from society for a very long period. Meyer proposed a lengthy period of imprisonment and prayed that the sentences must run consecutively and not concurrently.
By Roland Routh