Girlfriend slayer gets 25 years in jail

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday August 16, 2022 06:00

 

Girlfriend slayer gets 25 years in jail

Lasaro and Jeremia have four children together. Lasaro landed in hot soup after he murdered Jeremia for not cooking him relish. Previously, the court heard that on August 13, 2017, Jeremia gave Lasaro what he deemed an unconvincing explanation after the latter asked her about her whereabouts.

Lasaro had also kicked out the deceased from his place a few days before he murdered her. On that fateful day, Lasaro frequented a shebeen for a traditional brew called Khadi. “Whilst the convict was still at the shebeen, the deceased later arrived and the former bought relish when he saw her.

Thereafter, the convict asked the deceased to go to his place and cook the relish for him.

The deceased refused when she told the convict that she could not do that because he had chased her away from his place a few days earlier. The convict then took a knife and stabbed the deceased once on top of her left breast.

When sentencing the convict, the court should take into account that some prosecution witnesses have said that he looked drunk when he committed the unfortunate incident,” the court heard previously. When passing sentence, Justice Bengbame Sechele said there were exceptional extenuating circumstances that warranted the convict to escape the ultimate sentence of death.

“It is not in dispute that the convict and the deceased were lovers and that their affair was rocky and was characterised by fights, especially when drunk... The convict is illiterate and unsophisticated. He also committed the offence whilst he was intoxicated. He has also pleaded guilty to the offence and this shows that he is remorseful of his actions...,” said Justice Sechele.

“On the other hand, the convict has committed a very serious offence. Crimes of murder are on the increase in the country. Young men resort to using knives... The courts are therefore enjoined to pass stiffer sentences that would act as a deterrent to would-be offenders to bring social order. The sentence passed by the court should not break but rehabilitate the convict.

He is therefore sentenced to 25 years in jail, which shall be backdated from June 29, 2022. He is at liberty to appeal his conviction, sentence, or both within six weeks from now,” Sechele said.