Emotional scenes as Jerobejin van Wyk's mother letter is read in court

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DETAILS OF CHILD MURDER

CAPE TOWN - There were some emotional outbursts during the High Court sitting in Vredendal on Tuesday, where Jerobejin Van Wyk’s mother had a letter read out by a family spokesperson.

The 13-year-old was killed in Klawer in February 2022, after Daniel Smit accused him and a friend of stealing fruit from his property.

The court on Monday found him guilty on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, violating a corpse, and defeating the ends of justice.

READ: Daniel Smit convicted of the murder of Jerobejin van Wyk

Sentencing proceedings are expected to be concluded on Tuesday.

Triesa Van Wyk sobbed into a tissue as Mathilda Bains took to the witness stand to read her heartfelt letter to the court.

She said she would never forgive the accused who had taken her child away from her in such a brutal and cruel manner.

Van Wyk says on the day she had visited the mortuary, she expected to view her son’s body, only to find a small plastic bag with a few body parts.

Police discovered some of Jerobejin’s body parts in a drain outside Smit’s house, other parts were burnt in a fireplace and body parts had also been thrown in an oil drum on the property.

Van Wyk said her heart is still broken and she’s unsure if it will ever heal.

She still wants to know what her child’s last words were, if he had called out for her, and if he was already dead when Smit had dismembered his body.