Windhoek
A 23-year old resident of Maltahöhe in the Mariental district yesterday pleaded guilty to a charge of murder during a pre-trial conference before Judge Christi Liebenberg in the High Court.
Isak van der Westhuizen informed Judge Liebenberg of his plea through his state-funded lawyer Titus Mbaeva.
Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef informed the court that the State accepts the plea.
Mbaeva then proceeded to read a plea explanation into the record, after which the judge convicted Van der Westhuizen.
According to the plea explanation Van der Westhuizen entered the room of the deceased, Elfrieda Swartbooi, to discuss problems in their romantic relationship, and a quarrel erupted between him and the deceased.
After the deceased told him that she wanted to end the relationship he became angry and decided to injure her “to frighten her not to terminate the relationship,” he informed the court.
“Thereafter I went to the kitchen and collected a hunting knife which was in the kitchen and returned to the bedroom where I found the deceased sitting on the bed, and I then stabbed and cut the deceased several times with the hunting knife until she became unconscious,” read his plea.
He further said that after he realised the deceased was unconscious “I cut myself on the neck with the same knife in order to also die with her.”
Van der Westhuizen further stated he knew the deceased could die from the stabbing and cutting and that it was wrongful, unlawful and an offence to cause the death of another person and that he understood that he could be arrested and prosecuted.
He concluded by saying that he tendered the plea of guilty as a token of his remorse and wished to state that he was extremely sorry.
According to the summary of substantial facts in the indictment the police removed the accused on at least two occasions from the residence of the deceased on October 31, 2013.
When he returned a third time he and the deceased got involved in an argument and when he attacked her the witness Wiehaan Petrus Swartbooi intervened, but the accused stabbed him on his nose and arm with the hunting knife.
Van der Westhuizen then proceeded to attack the victim, who was six to seven months pregnant, and stabbed and cut her at least 14 times with the hunting knife on her neck and chest and she died because of the injuries and blood loss caused by the attack on her.
Van der Westhuizen will now return to court on October 13 and 14 for arguments on the sentence to be imposed.