By Mapaballo Borotho

- A 17-year-old has been sentenced to an effective 25 years’ direct imprisonment after being convicted of the rape, murder and robbery of 79-year-old Valerie Enziar on her Karoo farm in the Western Cape.
- The teenager entered into a plea agreement with the State and admitted to the offences, resulting in sentences of 20 years for rape, 25 years for murder and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
- The court ordered some of the sentences to run concurrently and also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to an effective 25 years’ direct imprisonment after being convicted of the rape, murder and robbery of a 79-year-old woman on a farm in the Karoo region of the Western Cape.
The sentence was handed down after the accused entered into a plea agreement with the State and admitted to the offences committed against Valerie Enziar.
The court sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment for rape, 25 years for murder, and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The sentences for rape and robbery will run concurrently with the murder sentence, resulting in an effective sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
According to evidence presented before the Western Cape High Court, the accused unlawfully entered Enziar’s property, where he raped and killed her with a metal chain.
Following the brutal murder, he stole from the elderly woman and left with some of her belongings as well as her bank cards.
The teenager said he specifically targeted Valerie because he knew she was old and lived alone in a remote area.
According to a news source, the teenager’s violent behaviour was not limited to this incident.
It is alleged that before these crimes, he had a disturbing history of cruelty toward animals, having killed them on more than one occasion. Behaviour that prosecutors referenced as evidence of his natural propensity toward violence.
The court considered the seriousness of the offences, the circumstances of the victim, and the contents of the plea agreement when determining an appropriate sentence.
The case has drawn attention to crimes committed against elderly and vulnerable members of society, with the court imposing a substantial custodial sentence following the conviction.
READ NEXT: Police probe double murder linked to anti-migrant unrest in Western Cape



