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Boy murder accused 'sane'
30/07/2007 13:58 - (SA)
Cape Town - Theunis Olivier was of a sober and sane mind when he sodomised and later strangled six-year-old Steven Siebert in Plettenberg Bay, the Cape High Court heard on Monday.
In his statement submitted to the court, Olivier said that he was normal when he committed the offence.
"I admit that I acted with the necessary criminal capacity in that I was able to distinguish between right and wrong and able to appreciate the wrongfulness of my action.
I'm truly remorseful for the crimes that I have committed and respectfully ask for mercy," he said.
His admission is a contradiction to his not guilty plea which he made to a lower court earlier this year where he had said that he was not of a sane mind when he committed the offence and therefore could not be held responsible for his actions.
However, a psychiatric evaluation revealed that he was fit to stand trial.
He is charged with the kidnapping, indecent assault and murder of Steven. The boy's body was found on Christmas Eve in dense bushes in the grounds of 30 Cordovan Street, Plettenberg Bay in 2005.
The family, from Johannesburg, had been on holiday at the time.
Cape High Court judge Essa Moosa adjourned the case until after lunch.
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