There is only one appropriate sentence for the callous killer of ballerina Estee van Rensburg - and that is life behind bars. Prosecutor JP Marais said this on Tuesday in the Pretoria High Court following the conviction of 31-year-old security guard Aaron Mashishi.
Acting Judge Sulette Potterill on Tuesday rejected Mashishi's version that his "accomplice", one Ndoda, was the person who killed Van Rensburg on March 25, 2008
.
She said the State had proved that Ndoda did not exist.
The police had failed to trace such a person and the foreman of the construction site near the Van Rensburgs' Faerie Glen home where Mashishi claimed his friend worked had not heard of him. Judge Potterill said the facts in this case were not in dispute.
The only issue was who pulled the trigger. When he was arrested a few days after the killing, Mashishi told the police he had murdered Van Rensburg.
He even nodded in the direction of his service pistol on a table to indicate which firearm he had used. When police took him to the house where Van Rensburg died, he had shown them where he shot the dancer. Mashishi, however, insisted in court that his friend was the mastermind behind the robbery and subsequent killing and that they planned to share the loot.
He said he had not seen the man again after that night.
"The accused claimed the idea (to rob the Van Rensburgs) was that of Ndoda and that they would share in the loot. Six days later, the mastermind behind the crime did not come back to collect his share. This is highly improbable," the judge said.
Van Rensburg's father, Koos, testified on Tuesday that his daughter was killed a month before her 20th birthday. He said his youngest daughter was petite, weighing 45kg.
The events were so traumatic for his family that his wife was staying with their children in London until the trial had been concluded.
Four of his children are abroad and do not wish to return to the country.
Speaking outside the court, Van Rensburg said his family's beliefs had carried them through this trying time. Marais, in arguing for a life sentence, said it was tragic for a young girl to be killed in the prime of her life for no apparent reason other than the greed of the accused.
Mashishi was to be sentenced on Wednesday.
Source : www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090401062209730C781528
Acting Judge Sulette Potterill on Tuesday rejected Mashishi's version that his "accomplice", one Ndoda, was the person who killed Van Rensburg on March 25, 2008
.She said the State had proved that Ndoda did not exist.
The police had failed to trace such a person and the foreman of the construction site near the Van Rensburgs' Faerie Glen home where Mashishi claimed his friend worked had not heard of him. Judge Potterill said the facts in this case were not in dispute.
The only issue was who pulled the trigger. When he was arrested a few days after the killing, Mashishi told the police he had murdered Van Rensburg.
He even nodded in the direction of his service pistol on a table to indicate which firearm he had used. When police took him to the house where Van Rensburg died, he had shown them where he shot the dancer. Mashishi, however, insisted in court that his friend was the mastermind behind the robbery and subsequent killing and that they planned to share the loot.
He said he had not seen the man again after that night.
"The accused claimed the idea (to rob the Van Rensburgs) was that of Ndoda and that they would share in the loot. Six days later, the mastermind behind the crime did not come back to collect his share. This is highly improbable," the judge said.
Van Rensburg's father, Koos, testified on Tuesday that his daughter was killed a month before her 20th birthday. He said his youngest daughter was petite, weighing 45kg.
The events were so traumatic for his family that his wife was staying with their children in London until the trial had been concluded.
Four of his children are abroad and do not wish to return to the country.
Speaking outside the court, Van Rensburg said his family's beliefs had carried them through this trying time. Marais, in arguing for a life sentence, said it was tragic for a young girl to be killed in the prime of her life for no apparent reason other than the greed of the accused.
Mashishi was to be sentenced on Wednesday.
Source : www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090401062209730C781528
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