The court found Smit guilty of the planned murder of Jerobejin

The Western Cape High Court has found Klawer Killer Daniel Smit guilty of premeditated murder for the horrific death of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk.

Two years after the shocking incident that shook the Western Cape dorpie, Judge Hayley Slingers found Smit guilty of culpable homicide in the boy’s initial abduction.

Smit appeared at the circuit court in Vredendal last week, where he gave a graphic defense statement describing how Jerobejin broke his neck and put him in the freezer.

The young boy’s death in February 2022 sparked turmoil in the rural town after it was revealed that Smit had kidnapped Jerobejin and butchered the boy’s body after allegedly stealing fruit from his property.

Police found human remains in the sewers of Smit’s home two days later and arrested him.

Smit abandoned his bail application, claiming he was a Satanist. He later said the murder was linked to the occult.

He admitted killing Jerobejin but denied it was premeditated. He also pleaded guilty to careless and negligent driving when he hit the child with his vehicle, but said it was not attempted murder.

In his statement of defense, Smith alleges Jerobejin said: door He made her angry after stealing the fruit.

After kidnapping the child, he took him to his home.

In his defence, he said: “I was still very angry and wanted to punish him, but I saw that he was afraid and decided to give him a sandwich and a cold drink.”

Smit says he was 13 when he joined a Chinese occult group where he was taught black magic and participated in punishment rituals. piece.

Watching Jerobejin eat, he says, “he came to his senses.”

He broke the boy’s neck, burned parts of his body in the fireplace, and threw the rest into the sewer.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said Smit was found guilty of all charges.

Ntabazalila said: “He was convicted on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, premeditated murder, rape of a corpse and defeating the ends of justice.

“You will recall that he pleaded guilty to five charges but chose to plead guilty to careless driving and murder (not premeditated).

“We rejected his defense and pursued the charges we preferred against him, which included attempted murder and culpable homicide.

“The State was successful in this and this morning Judge Slingers convicted him of the charges.”

The criminal trial began with Smit’s defense team calling a psychologist to testify.

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