Four life terms and 71 years
IT WAS a bittersweet day for the families of victims killed by convicted murder Cameron Wilson.
Judge Chantel Fortuin yesterday sentenced the 20-year-old to four life terms, and another 71 years’ imprisonment, for 13 counts including rape, murder and attempted murder.
Charles Moore, the father of Lekita Moore, 18, whose mutilated naked body was found in an open field in Valhalla Park after she was raped and stabbed 98 times, described Wilson as a “cold-blooded killer”.
Moore was relieved following the sentence but said he was heartbroken as it would not bring his daughter back.
“I am very thankful for the punishment he got. They just mustn’t keep him here in the Western Cape, they must send him to another city because he is a cruel killer. His family must not have the privilege of seeing him or him of seeing them. He must feel the pain that we feel,” said Moore.
He added that, for as long as he lived, his pain would never go away.
Wilson was also convicted of the murders of Toyher Stober and Stacey Lee Mohale, and for the rape of Dawney Davids.
Stober’s widow, Rukea Stober, said she was satisfied with the punishment but wanted more.
“We will never get our family back. He had no remorse for killing my husband. He would spit if he walked past me in the street,” said Stober.
She said her husband was the breadwinner, and described him as a good man.
“He was a community worker, everyone could depend on him,” she said.
A packed courtroom rejoiced when they heard the sentence.
During Wilson’s trial in the Western Cape High Court, which lasted several months, the court was presented with reports from psychologists who examined Wilson and declared him a serial killer and psychopath with a low chance of being rehabilitated.
Wilson is the father of a two-year-old daughter, and appeared nonchalant yesterday as he applauded with the gallery after hearing his fate.
Over 40 witnesses took to the stand during the trial, and Judge Fortuin yesterday thanked them, saying they had played a pivotal role in the case, despite being threatened.
State prosecutor Carine Theunissen said: “This young man showed no remorse, no empathy towards the victims and their families. He was cruel and the crimes he committed were very gruesome. He disrespected women and enjoyed manipulating them and, where they defied him, he lashed at them.”
Judge Fortuin said despite the fact that Wilson grew up in Heinz Park – a community with a list of social problems, ranging from unemployment to alcohol and drug abuse – he still grew up in a “stable and loving home”.
“I am aware of the socio-economic circumstances that you grew up in but, out of the millions of young people that grow up in similar circumstances, they haven’t turned to rape and murder,” she said.