Man killed children to 'spite mom'

2003-07-22 21:42

Pretoria - A Rustenburg father who admitted that he had broken his two young children?s necks before trying to commit suicide, had done it to punish his wife, a psychologist testified in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.

Jannie Beukes, 37, was convicted on two counts of murder after admitting that he had in January 2000 strangled his son Boeta, 5, and daughter Marinda, 9.

He testified in mitigation that he had loved his children, but had been angry and depressed after his wife left him and had not wanted his children to grow up with his wife and another man.

His only thought had been to remove himself and the children from the planet, he said.

Criminologist Dr Irma Labuschagne testified that Beukes had been under severe pressure and that something must have been wrong for him to commit such an irrational deed.

Aggression

Clinical psychologist Gustaf Pretorius, however, said Beukes could describe his actions in great detail, had not acted under the influence of drugs and had been rational when he killed his children.

He said a suicide note Beukes had written to his wife was very aggressive and showed that he was angry and wanted to teach his wife a lesson by killing himself and the children.

The fact that he had tried to reconcile with his wife after the murders and said he had "forgiven" her, also underlined this impression.

He said Beukes's intelligence was average to below average, he had a poor self-image and battled to handle problems, especially with his wife.

Although he tended to distance himself from problems it appeared that aggression might form part of his response to intense emotional pressure.

Pretorius felt that Beukes had not been under the influence of such an emotional storm that he could not have stopped himself from killing his children.

Revenge

The prosecution maintained that the motive for the murder had been revenge on his wife and that Beukes should be sent to jail for a very long time for killing his own flesh and blood, but an expert for the defence said a too long period in jail would turn the impressionable Beukes into a criminal who might be a danger to society.

Although final argument on sentencing would be presented before Acting Judge Kobus van Rooyen on Wednesday, he would probably only sentence Beukes in three weeks' time.

- SAPA