Cape Town - Convicted child killer Daniel Smit has received a collective sentence of 58 years in prison for the horrific murder of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk.
Despite his pleas for mercy, Judge Hayley Slingers slapped the man dubbed the “Klawer killer” with life imprisonment saying Smit acted with brazen impunity during the murder.
Smit returned to the Circuit Court in Vredendal on Monday where Slingers read out the judgment for sentencing.
In recent weeks, Smit took the stand and provided a graphic plea explanation describing how he broke the child’s neck and placed him in a freezer.
The death of the boy in February 2022 sparked an uproar in the rural town of Klawer after it was discovered that Smit allegedly butchered the boy’s corpse after he allegedly stole fruit from Smit’s property.
Smit reportedly drove into the teen with his bakkie, and was allegedly seen picking him up and putting him in the vehicle.
Two days later it was revealed that human remains were found in the drains at Smit’s home as police officers and forensic experts combed the area for clues to the boy’s whereabouts.
Smit appeared in the Klawer Magistrate’s Court several days later where he abandoned his bail application claiming he was a Satanist.
He later claimed the killing was linked to the occult.
During the trial he admitted to the murder but denied that it was premeditated and while he pleaded guilty to reckless and negligent driving when hitting the child with his vehicle, he said it was not attempted murder.
In her judgment for sentencing, Slingers said when assessing the evidence during the trial it became obvious that Smit became enraged with the child’s actions in stealing fruit from his property.
She said Smit acted in a calculated manner and did not have a loss of self-control but instead was in control throughout his actions.
The judge further highlighted the brutality of the attack, saying there were no compelling reasons for the court to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentences.
“It was executed with shocking brutality and cruelty against a defenceless boy. The accused acted with brazen impunity,” she said.
“He did not care who witnessed him chasing the deceased or who witnessed him kidnapping the deceased. He did not care that his daughter was home when he killed the deceased.
“After considering the accused, the crime and the interests of society together with the objectives of punishment, I have not been convinced that there are compelling and substantial reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.”
Slingers sentenced Smit to life in prison for the murder, 15 years for attempted murder, 10 years for kidnapping, five years for violating a corpse and three years for defeating the ends of justice.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile lauded the efforts of the investigating officer, Theo Maarman from the Vredendal Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.