A North West man who stabbed his pregnant wife to death in front of their two children has managed to persuade the North West High Court to give him a lesser punishment.
The court sat on Thursday to hand down the judgment on the appeal. The Taung regional court had sentenced the accused, who was 41, to life in prison.
He then appealed the sentence, saying that because he admitted to the crime and that he was angry when he killed his wife, his sentence cannot be labelled as a premeditated murder.
The incident happened on October 9, 2022, in Kolong village outside Taung.
According to the state, the murder was premeditated. The man told the court that on that fatal day, he was at his home doing laundry.
He said there was no food in the house, and he waited for his wife to go to work so that he could ask her for money. They were not staying together.
“I admit that I saw her walking to the taxi together with my two children. I admit that I then decided to follow them to the taxi to ask her for money,” he told the court.
He said before she got into a taxi, they had an argument, and he lost his temper.
Stabbed wife with scissors
“I admit that I then took out half of a scissors that was in my possession, and I then started to stab her with it,” he said.
The court heard that the wife fell on the ground, and the man left her there and went back home.
The following day, he handed himself over to the police and was arrested for murder.
He told the court that he intended to kill his wife and that he stabbed her several times in the chest and back.
“I now regret what I have done and ask this honourable court for mercy and leniency,” the court heard at that time.
He was then found guilty by the trial court of “premeditated murder”.
He said he was 41 and a father of three children, a girl aged 19 and two boys aged 16 and eight, respectively. The children were staying with his in-laws.
He attended school until grade 12 and did “piece” jobs. His last job was as a security officer earning R4 500 a month.
Fit of a rage
“The appellant brutally murdered the deceased in full view of the children. As referred to above, it also became evident that the deceased was pregnant at the time when she was murdered,” acting judge NG Laubscher said.
“On June 20, this court heard the appeal. There was no evidence before the trial court that the murder of the deceased was planned or premeditated by her husband.
“The appellant was justly and correctly convicted of committing the offence of murder, and a heinous murder at that. This fact stands clear.
“It is the premeditated qualification of the verdict that compels this court of appeal to intervene in the interests of justice.
“The statement admits the murder of the deceased but does not contain any facts or proof that the appellant planned the murder and/or rationally considered the timing or method of the murder in advance of its execution, or that the murder was committed in the execution of a scheme or a design in advance.
“The appellant states that the murder was committed in a fit of rage because he lost his temper,” Laubscher said.
No evidence that killing was planned
Handing down the judgment, Laubscher said there was no evidence before the trial court that the murder of the deceased was “planned” or “premeditated”.
“The element of planning and/or premeditation as included in the charge against the appellant was simply not proven by the state,” said Laubscher.
“As such, the trial court’s jurisdiction as to sentence in this matter was statutorily restricted to imposing a term of imprisonment not exceeding 20 years.
“The trial court exceeded this statutory jurisdictional limit in sentencing the appellant to imprisonment.”
The imposed sentence was changed from a life sentence to 20 years imprisonment.
Can Magistrate Laubscher explain as to why the accused had a pair of scissors with him when he went to confront his pregnant wife at the taxi rank?