Remaining family of convicted killer Eugene Botha calls for life sentence
On 1 January 2024, Botha killed all three of them in a violent fit of rage at their Rondebult home.
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 remaining family of a Germiston man convicted of killing his parents and sister says he should be given a life sentence.
On Tuesday, the Johannesburg High Court found Eugene Botha guilty of the murders of his mother, Marrie - his sister, Soné and father Johannes.
On 1 January 2024, 43-year-old Botha killed all three of them in a violent fit of rage at their Rondebult home.
Post-mortem results show they all died from being repeatedly hit on the head with a hammer.
Testifying in court on Tuesday, Jean Botha says he won't forget the moment he received a call telling him that his brother had killed both their parents and sister.
"That is probably the worst day of my life, and since then New Year and Christmas will never be the same for us."
He apologised to Eugene for leaving home when he was young and never regularly checking in on him.
However, he said this was no excuse for what he did.
"I don’t hate my brother. I don’t want him to be roughly punished for anything. I just think that he has got no skill, if he ever goes to jail and comes out, he is going to live on the streets and I would like to see him get a life sentence because not only did he take three wonderful people, my sister, especially which I was close to because of her nature, she was an angel.
"[She] loved to draw dragons and fairytale stuff. At least for her, I want a life sentence and it’s not only for me, it’s from the family. I understand he was angry at my mom, personally, I think I understand what happened to my mum but I don’t understand why he took my sister. My mother has a sharp tongue but she was never violent."
'I WAS BULLIED BY MY FAMILY' - BOTHA
Meanwhile, Botha said he was bullied all his life by his family.
Before being arrested, Botha was unemployed, living in his parent's backroom, with grade 11 being his highest level of qualification.
He said his parents paid for his brother and sister to go to school and study further, but they didn’t do the same for him.
Botha said he was the punching bag of the family.
"There were many times that me and my father had a beat of a verbal abuse to each other and he wouldn’t take it so he would hit me with a fist in the face or he would slap me. My mother was the same, she would hit me with a fist in the face, not thinking about what it would do to me as a young man and all those years it never stopped. My brother never knew about it, I kept still and never said anything to anybody and I couldn’t take it anymore."
However his brother, Jean said this was not true. He said his brother had always suffered from a victim mentality.
Arguments in mitigation and aggravation of Botha's sentence continue on Wednesday.