INLSA
Johannes Jacobus Steyn was found guilty on 33 charges in the High Court in Alberton. Photo: Boxer Ngwenya
Johannesburg – “You killed my daughter and you will pay for it,” Shireen de Waal spat at Johannes Jacobus Steyn – “the Sunday Rapist” – moments after he was found guilty of 33 counts, including murdering 16-year-old Louise and the culpable homicide of another teenager, Lizaan Farmer.
Lizaan, also 16, had jumped from the moving car after being kidnapped by Steyn and died as a result.
Steyn was charged with a total of 37 crimes, including murder, rape, sexual assault and kidnapping of girls between the ages of 11 and 18 between November 2008 and October 2011. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Judge Sita Kolbe found Steyn not guilty of raping Louise as there was insufficient evidence to prove this charge. Her body had been burnt, which meant much of the physical evidence was destroyed and there were no witnesses to her rape.
Steyn was confronted by De Waal during a brief break in the judgment at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court sitting as the high court in which she told him he would “pay for [what he had done]” to her daughter, who was murdered four days before her birthday.
Other members of the public also took the break to question the killer.
“I’m Louise’s friend, don’t you have anything to say to me?” Natasha Gordon, who is now 18, asked Steyn. He did not reply to De Waal or Gordon and kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.
Gordon was with Louise when Steyn kidnapped her and although Judge Kolbe had asked to keep her identity safe, both Gordon and her mother Carol said they did not mind being named or photographed by the media. However, the mother and daughter asked to comment publicly after Steyn was sentenced.
Steyn said he would also speak publicly after sentencing as he was too emotional to comment as he was led back into custody.
Outside court, De Waal said although she was happy with Steyn being found guilty of murder, she was “quite upset” that he had been found not guilty of raping her daughter.
“[If he didn’t rape her], what was he doing with my daughter for two hours?” she asked.
The court had previously heard that Steyn had kidnapped Louise, taken her back to his house in Roodepoort, left the house later, then murdered her and burnt her naked body in a field in Maropeng.
Judge Kolbe accepted the State’s version that Steyn had taken an accelerant with him before leaving the house and killing Louise, which meant he must therefore have planned to murder her and burn the body.
The other three charges he was found not guilty of was the rape of another 16-year-old girl and two counts of sexually assaulting two other teenagers.
He was found guilty of two charges that were changed from rape to sexual assault, relating to one kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl, and had the charge of murdering Lazanne reduced to culpable homicide.
The case continues.
The Star
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Victims’ parents confront ‘Sunday Rapist’