The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Gran was beheaded in frenzied attack
Sandra Malcolm helped injured thief before savage assault
A Tayside woman was stabbed, decapitated and then dismembered by a woman who had broken into her South African home.
Sandra Malcolm, 74, was shown no mercy by Sheree Prince even though she had treated the housebreaker’s burned foot and given her tea and toast.
Prince, 22, broke into Mrs Malcolm’s home in Cape Town in April 2015 by climbing through an open window. Mrs Malcolm was woken by the noise but helped Prince when she saw her injured leg.
But Prince launched a frenzied attack on Mrs Malcolm in order to stop her calling the police.
She stabbed Mrs Malcolm 24 times, decapitated her and then used an axe to chop off her limbs.
Mrs Malcolm’s dismembered body was found by her grandson.
Prince will be sentenced next month.
A 22-year-old woman has been found guilty of decapitating and dismembering a former Monifieth grandmother at her home in South Africa.
Sandra Malcolm, 74, was stabbed by Sheree Prince, 22, as she tried to treat her killer’s burned foot.
Prince will be sentenced on April 19, finally bringing an end to Mrs Malcolm’s family’s long hunt for justice.
She admitted in court papers that she had cut off Mrs Malcolm’s head and limbs after the grandmother treated her injured foot and fed her toast and tea.
Prince claimed she stabbed Mrs Malcolm, who had lived in South Africa for 35 years, when she said she was going to call an ambulance, as she feared she would contact the police instead.
She said she had scalded her foot when she kicked over a pot of soup as she left an address she had been staying at after robbing a house.
Prince said she then travelled to the Cape Town suburb of Lakeside and broke into Mrs Malcolm’s flat.
She woke her victim as she clambered inside through an open window.
Her statement said: “I told her that I climbed through the window, that I was looking for help and showed her my burnt foot.
“We then went into the kitchen where she gave me Savlon mixed with water to wash my foot. She then made me toast and tea.
“The woman said she was going to phone for an ambulance. I said no and grabbed the knife. I told her I would stab her if she called the police. She tried to take the knife from me.
“I stabbed her in her chest once and she fell to the ground. I wanted to leave, but saw her trying to get up.
“I then killed her by decapitating her with the big knife.”
Prince’s horrifying statement continued: “I tried to cut her body in order to take it apart. I sent a message to my father using the woman’s phone, saying: ‘Ek’s in groot kak (I’m in deep s***), help.’
“I then cut off both of her arms and tried to cut off her legs, but failed to remove them completely and then I used an axe to chop it off.”
In his judgment, Judge Bruce Langa said the manner of Mrs Malcolm’s death would be considered when Prince is sentenced next month.
He said: “I accept the report by the forensic pathologist that the deceased was stabbed 24 times. This does not alter the accused’s guilt, but will be relevant for purpose of sentencing.
“The accused totally dismembered the deceased. She removed her head and all the main limbs: legs, arms and knees completely.”