Abused woman jailed for killing husband

2012-11-30 09:36

Rachel Botha (File, Beeld)

Pretoria - A Pretoria woman has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for killing her husband during a fight in a motorcycle shop in 2010.

In sentencing, the magistrate said that Rachel Botha, 49, should be regarded as a woman who had suffered abuse as a child and adult and these were mitigating circumstances, reported Beeld.

Witnesses testified in court how Botha and her husband started fighting and she pushed him and hit him with her fists, sitting on top of him and bashing his head against the floor, repeatedly telling him to die.

He later passed away due to head injuries and also had broken ribs and bruises.

The court heard that Botha’s marriage had been troubled by her husband’s alcohol abuse and that he would become physically abusive towards her when drunk.

As a child her father had also been jailed for murder and she had to take care of her siblings because her mother had a drinking problem.

A probation officer said Botha cried a lot during their interview and had told her she had very much loved her husband of 28 years but there had been a lot of tension due to his drinking.

- News24