Ex-boyfriend convicted of premeditated murder
THE man accused of killing 26-year-old Clanwilliam teacher Allison Plaatjies was yesterday convicted for premeditated murder in the Western Cape High Court.
Phillip April was in a relationship with Plaatjies but they had broken up by the time he killed her in her apartment and drove away with her car on October 26, 2019. He pleaded guilty to a charge of murder but disputed theft of her car.
From the outset, April admitted to killing Plaatjies and gave the court his version of what happened, but State advocate Renee Uys rejected his plea, arguing instead that April had planned the murder.
Acting Judge Nonthuthuzelo Ralarala said in her judgment that based on the evidence, the State had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that April had committed premeditated murder and that he had taken her car with her consent.
She said this, based on text message exchanges between April and Plaatjies, along with the testimony of witnesses.
The judge found that the pair were not in a relationship at the time of the killing. The status of their relationship had been disputed with the defence arguing the pair were still together at the time.
“There was clearly a thought process involved in Mr April’s actions leading to the killing of (Plaatjies). It is evident in this case that Mr April had direct intent to kill the deceased. The State’s evidence showed that the thought process did not only begin when he killed her as it demonstrated in his statement.
“The evidence does not only show that Mr April calculated his moves; it also shows that his actions were deliberate,” she said.
Judge Ralarala added, on April’s own account, that Plaatjies became angry when they spoke in her apartment that night, which meant Plaatjies was helpless.
“He then walks to the kitchen and fetches a knife and stabs her in the back. When that knife broke, he went to the kitchen again, he came back and and now he slit her throat.
“This clearly demonstrates he rationally considered the method of killing the deceased to ensure that he carried out his plan successfully. I am therefore satisfied that the circumstances under which the murder was committed by Mr April show that the murder was premeditated,” Judge Ralarala said.
Outside court, Plaatjies’ family had congregated to celebrate the guilty verdict, all clad in black T-shirts bearing Allison’s graduation picture.
Her aunt, Lizel Plaatjies, said: “After three years, it seems like we’re getting to a conclusion. I’m just glad they found him guilty of premeditated murder, because he was arguing that he didn’t do it on purpose and he didn’t plan it. I’m not a detective but I think he did plan it.”
She further warned young women to be cautious about their partners. “I still can’t believe it. We’ve met him and we’ve been with him and his mother and he came to our house.
“When they called me and they told me, ‘Lizel, he murdered sissie’ I said ‘no, somewhere there is a mistake; it can’t be Phillip’. As the story unfolded and I’m listening to everything he did, it started getting to me. I sensed he was that person and he was just hiding it very well,” she said.