Eugene Botha: Lawyer pleads for mercy in sentencing of convicted killer
Botha has been convicted for killing his mother, Marrie - sister, Soné and father Johannes Botha.
Eugene Botha, who is accused of killing three family members at their Germiston home in 2024, appeared in the Johannesburg High Court on 21 January 2025. Picture: Sphamandla Dlamini/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - The lawyer of convicted killer Eugene Botha has pleaded for mercy in the sentencing of his client.
Botha has been convicted for killing his mother, Marrie - sister, Soné and father Johannes Botha.
He killed them in a violent fit of rage at their Rondebult home in Germiston on New Year's Day in 2024.
Botha is set to be sentenced on Wednesday at the Johannesburg High Court.
Legal aid lawyer Sibabalwe Ngxumza said there are compelling circumstances for the court to depart from the minimum prescribed sentence for murder.
Ngxumza said Botha entered into a guilty plea as a way to show remorse.
READ: Remaining family of convicted killer Eugene Botha calls for life sentence
Ngxumza said the court should also take into account that Botha had consumed alcohol on the day.
"In my closing, with the leave of the court, touch on the issue of mercy which I will request this court to consider, have mercy on the accused upon listening to all the evidence presented."
While Botha has two previous convictions for fraud and counterfeiting, Ngcxumza says he has no documented history of violent behaviour.