A 39-old man from Modder River faces two life sentences after he was found guilty of raping and murdering his 65-year-old mother.
A 39-YEAR-old man from Modder River, Paul Conradie, will today know whether he will be handed two life sentences after he was found guilty of raping and murdering his 65-year-old mother.
The Northern Cape High Court found Conradie guilty on both charges on Wednesday for the incident that occurred in 2020.
The court heard from witnesses who testified that the deceased was found lying with her dress pulled up to her waist. Her biological son, Conradie, was found lying next to her.
The incident apparently occurred after the Conradie and his mother had consumed home-made ginger beer.
Testimony from Doctor Lemaine Fouchè, who conducted the autopsy on the deceased, stated that the mother was penetrated 24 hours before her death.
Fouchè testified that she died of strangulation.
Fouchè said pressure was applied to the front of the throat and her head was pressed against a flat, solid surface.
The State, represented by advocate Quinton Hollander, described both offences as horrendous, stating that the deceased was in a trusting relationship with the accused, who was her son.
“There is no other word to describe the offence other than ‘horrific’,” said Hollander.
“The accused lived in a trust relationship with his elderly mother and he had the responsibility to protect his frail mother. On the day of the incident, the mother was drunk, defenceless, tired and lying down for a while. She was extremely vulnerable at the time.
“The doctor testified that pressure was placed to the throat of the deceased for one minute or more and she was lying on the ground at the time. The accused must have sat on top of her. He strangled the deceased and watched the life leave the body of his mother. He only released his grip when he was satisfied that she was dead.”
Hollander said the fact that Conradie might have also been under the influence of alcohol at the time, should not be regarded as a mitigating factor.
“Alcohol played a minimal role in the matter. The offence was committed five hours after the accused and his mother were drinking. This was also not the first time the accused and his mother drank together.”
Hollander added that the time Conradie spent incarcerated while waiting for his trial to be concluded, should also not be a factor for the court to defer from imposing the minimum prescribed sentence.
He pointed out that Conradie’s criminal record shows that he does not shy away from brushes with the law.
“The two years and nine months the accused spent in custody awaiting the finalisation of his trial does not really play a decisive role in sentencing. When looking at the previous convictions of the accused, one sees that he was convicted for housebreaking in 2012. His sentence was not completed and he again committed the same offence in 2015, for which he was again sentenced.
“A year and five months after the second housebreaking sentence, he committed this horrendous crime. He was not even done with his previous sentence when he committed the offence. The timeline of the offences gives a little insight of the type of person the accused is,” Hollander said.
Conradie’s lawyer, Heinrich Steynberg, argued that a life-imprisonment sentence would be harsh as the accused might be a candidate for rehabilitation.
Steynberg said that the fact that Conradie pleaded not guilty and still maintains his innocence should not be regarded as an aggravating circumstance.
“The accused was never imprisoned for a lengthy period and is someone who can still be rehabilitated. His plea of not guilty and lack of guilt should not be regarded as an aggravated circumstance. The accused can show remorse at a later stage during his rehabilitation,” he said.
Steynberg stated that Conradie did not plan to commit the offence.
“Without making an excuse for the accused, he was, however, intoxicated at the time of the offence. It should be noted that intoxication can be regarded as an aggravating factor and not a mitigating factor.
“However, this matter was not premeditated. The accused did not consume alcohol in order to conduct the crime. The consumption of alcohol in this matter should be regarded as a mitigating factor and not as an aggravating factor.”
He added that while the court has to take the outcry of society into consideration in such cases, the circumstances and fact of each case needs to be studied individually.
“Society calls for offenders of rape and murder to be removed from society. However, that factor needs to be weighed against the personal circumstances of each accused in a matter. It is not a one-shoe-fits-all scenario,” he said.
Steyberg requested the court to sentence Conradie to 20 to 25 years imprisonment and for both charges to run concurrently.
“The accused has been in custody for two years and nine months. However, the court has the discretion on how to take that into consideration,” Steynberg said.
Judge Lawrence Lever said he would have to not only weigh the seriousness of the offences, the personal circumstances of the accused, as well as whether he can be rehabilitated, but he also has to weigh the timeline of the offences against these factors.
