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08/05/2008 02:24 PM - (SA) Farm worker gets life for axe murder 08-05-2008
Goliath was also given an additional eight years jail sentence on charges of housebreaking and theft. The accused, who has a long list of previous offences, denied committing the crime up until the last moment, but the court's finding was that he had lied and had adjusted his testimony as the trial had gone along. In sentencing the accused, the judge said the court had no reason to doubt the testimony by his co-accused, Melanie Groenewald, who had turned state witness against Goliath. The 25-year-old prostitute had testified that Mr De Koker was a client, and that she and Goliath had returned to his house after he refused to pay her the full amount of R150 they had agreed on. She added that Goliath had attacked Mr De Koker, who was asleep on the bed, with an axe he found in the braai area.
Crime deserved severe punishment
Advocate Gadija Booley, Goliath's legal representative, in mitigation of sentence told the court that her client had a difficult childhood. He had lost both his parents when he was only three months old when his mother was murdered by his father, who was then killed in a vengeance attack by his wife's family. Goliath was then placed in an orphanage until the age of four, when he and his two brothers were brought up by his grandmother. He had to leave school after grade 9 to start work and earn money for the family. State Prosecutor, Advocate Romay van Rooyen, in her closing arguments said that Goliath had no reason to kill Mr De Koker and that his only motive was greed. After sentencing, Advocate Booley indicated that her client would be appealing against the sentence.
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