Plea bargain gets killer 23 years

Matching terms for murder of 93-year-old

A 26-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of 93-year-old Paarl woman Hilletjie Verster, who woke up while he and an accomplice were ransacking her home.

Clarence Jones pleaded guilty to the murder as part of a plea bargain with the State, which was concluded in the Western Cape High Court yesterday.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of housebreaking and to the attempted murder of Verster’s son, Stephanus Francois, who disturbed them when he arrived at the house to visit his mother.

Jones stabbed Stephanus during the struggle that ensued.

The plea bargain comes less than two weeks after his former co-accused, 25-year-old Aubrey Dampies, concluded a similar plea bargain with the State in connection with the same incident.

Dampies was also sentenced to 23 years in jail.

In his plea and sentence agreement, Jones said he and Dampies were walking through Verster’s neighbourhood and decided to knock on her front door.

Since no one answered and one of the windows was open, he and Dampies broke into the house and started looking for valuables.

Verster was asleep in one of the bedrooms but woke up. Jones covered her nose and mouth, while Dampies strangled her until she stopped moving.

The pair proceeded to look for valuables but were disturbed by Verster’s son, who arrived from Polokwane to visit his mother.

“Both of us were startled and wanted to escape, but could not pass him.

“I took a pair of scissors and stabbed him, giving myself a chance to break loose.

“I threw the pair of scissors to (Dampies) so that he could also use it.

“(Dampies) stabbed the man in his back and the man’s grip loosened.

“We fled via the back door,” Jones said in his plea and sentence agreement.

He added that he knew he was not supposed to enter the house and that his conduct was wrong.

Police arrested the men the following day and they were charged with Verster’s murder, the attempted murder of her son and housebreaking.

Earlier this month, Dampies concluded a plea and sentence agreement with the State and the case against Jones was postponed to yesterday.

In court yesterday, Acting Judge Nonkosi Saba convicted Jones in accordance with the agreement and sentenced him to an effective 23 years in jail.

The court took into account as mitigating factors that Jones was a father of two children, aged one and six, and that he had contributed towards the maintenance of the eldest child.

The court also took into account that he had expressed remorse for his conduct and had been in custody awaiting trial since July last year.