Insulin killers awaiting fate
2004-12-06 18:25
Johannesburg - Two women convicted of killing a Krugersdorp man by insulin injection will be sentenced in the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday.
Helene Hoffman, 56, and Doreen Stoop, 31, were found guilty in September of killing Frederik van Heerden by injecting him two years ago with about five times the legal dose of insulin.
Speaking in mitigation of sentence before Judge Pierre Rabie on Monday, Stoop's lawyer, Charles Thompson, asked the court not to impose more than 20 years on her because she was in bad health.
A diabetic, Stoop supplied the insulin to Hoffman, who injected Van Heerden with it. Van Heerden and Hoffman were living together at the time of his death.
Licence to commit crime
The two women were also convicted of defeating the ends of justice. They tried to dispose of Van Heerden's body by pouring pool acid and benzene over him.
Advocate Jack le Grange, representing Hoffman, said his client had a back injury and also a heart complaint. He asked the court to consider house arrest for Hoffman.
The court was due to hear mitigation and sentence on September 22, but Stoop collapsed after being convicted and was admitted to hospital. She was visibly ill on Monday in court, shaky and constantly rubbing her forehead.
However, prosecutor Charl Geel said in closing arguments that ill health could not become "a licence to commit crime".
He said the motive for the murder was uncertain as the court had found Hoffman was not the battered woman she claimed to be.
- SAPA