A Western Cape High Court judge believes a third person was involved in the rape and murder of Janika Mello.
The two men found guilty of raping and bludgeoning the 14-year-old girl to death were sentenced to a cumulative 80 years behind bars on Friday.
Leeroy Rose and Allester Abraham appeared calm as Judge Pearl Andrews explained the provisions of the Child Justice Act and the implications of the sentence, saying there was cause to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentences.
Janika, who was a Grade 6 learner at Northwood Primary School in Woodlands, attended a karaoke at Portlands High School in support of a local soccer club on August 31, 2019.
She was later dropped off by a taxi close to her Heinz Park home and her half-naked body was found in her backyard the following morning.
A post-mortem report revealed that the teen suffered multiple vaginal and anal injuries, while crime scene photographs showed multiple used condoms at the scene.
During the trial, Rose turned on his co-accused and claimed that he saw Abraham throw a rock at Janika's head.
The duo were both found guilty on two charges of rape and one of murder.
During arguments on Friday, State advocate Bonginkosi Maki stated that Rose should be sentenced to 25 years, while Abraham should receive life sentences for his crimes.
He argued that Rose should be shown mercy as he was 16 years old at the time of the murder.
Maki accused Rose of violating the trust of Janika's family, who considered him a huiskind.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Andrews said she believed Rose had withheld the identity of another person who could have raped Janika, pointing to the number of condoms found at the crime scene.
She said: “Accused 1 knows more about what happened on that night.”
Andrews said that the duo worked alongside each other to subdue, rape and kill the teen.
She added: “The manner in which Janika was killed was particularly gruesome. The cause of death was determined as blunt force trauma to the head, neck and the consequences thereof.
“The extent of the injuries rendered her unrecognisable as she was bludgeoned to death.
“As if this was not enough, she was sexually violated. Her assailants’ level of disrespect is displayed as they did not even cover her naked body.”
The judge said she believed that both accused were able to be rehabilitated.
Rose was sentenced to 20 years in jail for murder and received an additional 20 years for both rape counts.
Abraham was given a similar sentence, however, received an additional eight months on a charge of assault.
The sentences will run concurrently and the duo will serve an effective 20 years in prison, while Judge Andrews also ordered that their names be entered into the National Sex Offenders Registry and that they be declared unfit to work with children in the future.
Janika’s aunt, Waliswa Constable, said they were happy with the outcome and believed the court handed down the harshest sentence it could, considering the ages of the killers at the time of the murder.
She said: “For us, we are fine with the outcome.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za