Eighteen-year sentence for murder of toddler Lache Stols
THE woman Lache Stols, 3, called mommy was yesterday sentenced to 18 years in prison for killing her. Western Cape High Court Judge Nolwazi Boqwana said Anthea Kleynhans, who was convicted of murder with dolus eventualis and child abuse, acted brutally when she beat Lache to death with a belt and open hand.
She said one could only imagine the pain the child was in as she had been abused over a period of four months, with each beating becoming more intense.
Judge Boqwana sentenced the 39-year-old mother of three girls to 13 years for murder and seven years for the abuse. She said two years would run concurrently, effectively handling Kleynhans jail time of 18 years.
In addition, Kleynhans was declared unsuitable to work with children, and her name would be listed in the National Child Protection register.
In her sentencing, Judge Boqwana said the court could not impose a life imprisonment sentence as argued for by the State because Kleynhans had compelling personal circumstances.
However, she said a long imprisonment was appropriate.
“The deceased had no one to run to. The person she called mommy, that she lived with, is the one who beat her to death. She was a child of three years, weighing 13kg – smaller than the average child of her age. She was still developing, learning to talk and control her emotions,” said Judge Boqwana.
Lache was living with her paternal grandmother and great grandmother when she was uprooted to live with her father and Kleynhans.
Kleynhans said she was forced to look after her. She said frustrations over her unemployment, and alcohol contributed to her abusing Lache. She said she beat her because she soiled herself.
Kleynhans said Lache soiled herself every second day, and the beatings started in mid-November 2011, getting more severe as time progressed.
Judge Boqwana said: “The deceased could do nothing. She was a victim of a decision made by adults.
“If the accused could have asked for help, Lache would have been rescued.”
Katy Stols, Lache’s grandmother, testified in sentencing that her mother, Maria Stols, was struggling to accept the child’s death.
“She still walks around with Lache’s obituary,” she said.
Lache’s mother, Lara Boer, sobbed and said she placed her trust in the court.
Lache died on January 23, 2012. A postmortem report said she died of blunt force trauma injuries. Pathologists told the court this was the worst case they had come across involving a child.