'He is just another murderer': NPA argues for life sentence for child killer Daniel Smit
Smit murdered 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk in Klawer in February 2022, after accusing him and a friend of stealing fruit from his property.
Murder accused Daniel Smit in the Vredendal Magistrates Court on 29 Octiber 2024. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN
CAPE TOWN - The State has heard the desperate pleas of residents in Klawer, who say, they want to see Daniel Smit locked up for life.
Arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence were concluded in the High Court sitting in Vredendal on Tuesday in the case against the 58-year-old child killer.
Smit murdered 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk in Klawer in February 2022, after accusing him and a friend of stealing fruit from his property.
He admitted that he became involved with a Chinese occult group at the age of 13.
He was taught how to do black magic and cast spells and also, over time, got involved in Satanism but became a reborn Christian when his son was born in 2000.
Smit was found guilty on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, violating a corpse and defeating the ends of justice and will be sentenced on Monday.
The State has opposed the defence's request that the accused be sentenced to 30 years and has argued that only life imprisonment will deliver justice for Jerobejin's mother.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)'s Eric Ntabazalila: "We argued that there's nothing special about this accused, he is just another normal murderer, who took the life of a 13-year-old boy in a very gruesome manner and we argued that there's nothing that allows the court to deviate from this prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment."