The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
South African woman faces trial accused of killing Monifieth gran
Family have waited more than two years following arrest of suspect to hear whether she was fit to appear in court
A South African woman is to stand trial accused of killing a Monifieth grandmother.
Sandra Malcolm, 74, was found dead by her grandson in her Cape Town home in April 2015.
The former Monifieth woman had been killed in a suspected robbery gone wrong.
Sandra’s family have waited more than two years from the time the woman accused of the crime, Sheree Prince, 20, was arrested.
Since her first court appearance in May 2015, Prince has been admitted to a psychiatric centre where extensive tests were carried out to establish if she was mentally fit to stand trial.
A long-winded legal process ensued, with Prince first being found fit to stand trial before the accused’s defence lawyers challenged the findings.
Prince has finally been found fit to stand trial and will face charges of housebreaking and murder when she appears at Western Cape High Court on Friday February 9.
Prince’s case is expected to last until Thursday March 8.
Mrs Malcolm was from Monifieth but had lived in South Africa for 35 years.
In April 2015 her body was discovered by her grandson in her home at Marina Da Gama, Cape Town.
An autopsy undertaken by the South African authorities established the cause of death as multiple stab wounds.
Prince was later arrested and made her first appearance at Muizenberg Magistrates’ Court on May 11.
She is understood to be from the small town of Citrusdal, around 100 miles north of Cape Town.
Speaking shortly after the killing, Mrs Malcolm’s nephew, Colin Chalmers, said the family had been left “distraught” by the murder.
Long delays to the trial being heard have been caused by changes to Prince’s legal representation and disputes over the accused’s mental health.
Lengthy waits for a bed at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital, where Prince underwent psychiatric tests, caused further delays.