Convicted child killer Daniel Smit has received a collective sentence of 58 years in the mang for the horrific murder of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk.
Despite his pleas for mercy, Judge Hayley Slingers slapped the man dubbed the Klawer Killer with life behind bars, saying Smit acted with brazen impunity during the horrific murder.
Smit, 58, returned to the Circuit Court in Vredendal on Monday when Slingers delivered the sentence.
Smit provided a graphic plea explanation describing how he broke the child’s neck and placed him in a freezer.
The death of the young boy in February 2022 sparked an uproar in the rural town after it was discovered that Smit butchered the boy's body after kidnapping him.
Smit was seen picking the teen up and putting him in his bakkie, and two days later it was revealed that human remains were found in the drains at Smit’s home as cops and forensic experts combed for clues.
Smit abandoned his bail application in the Klawer Magistrates Court claiming he was a Satanist. Later he claimed the killing was linked to the occult.
During the trial he admitted to the murder but denied that it was premeditated. And while he pleaded guilty to reckless and negligent driving when hitting the child with his bakkie, he said it was not attempted murder.
On Monday, Slingers said when assessing the evidence, it became obvious that Smit became enraged with Jerobejin’s actions of going onto his property and stealing fruit.
She said Smit acted in a calculated manner and did not have a loss of self control as he claimed.
The Judge further highlighted the brutality of the attack, saying there were no compelling reasons for the court to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentences.
Slingers added: “It was executed with shocking brutality and cruelty against a defenceless boy.
“The accused acted with brazen impunity. He did not care who witnessed him chasing the deceased or who witnessed him kidnapping the deceased. He did not care that his daughter was home when he killed the deceased.
“After considering the accused, the crime and the interests of society together with the objectives of punishment, I have not been convinced that there are compelling and substantial reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.”
Slingers sentenced Smit to life in prison for the murder, 15 years for attempted murder, 10 years for kidnapping, five years for violating a corpse and three years for defeating the ends of justice.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile lauded the efforts by the investigating officer, Detective Warrant Officer Theo Maarman from the Vredendal Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.