Cape Town - The Western Cape High Court has found Daniel Smit guilty of premeditated murder for the horrific death of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk.
Judge Hayley Slingers found that as the child was first kidnapped, Smit was guilty of premeditated murder.
Smit, who was dubbed the “Klawer killer”, went on trial at the Circuit Court in Vredendal last week, where he provided a graphic explanation of his plea, detailing how he broke the child’s neck and placed him in a freezer.
The boy’s death in February 2022 sparked an uproar in the rural town after it was discovered that Smit allegedly butchered the boy’s body after he allegedly stole fruit from Smit’s property.
Smit was reportedly seen picking the teen up and putting him in the bakkie and two days later it was revealed that human remains were found in the drains at Smit’s home as police and forensic experts combed for clues.
Smit appeared in the Klawer Magistrate’s Court several days later where he abandoned his bail application, claiming he was a Satanist.
Later he claimed the killing was linked to an occult.
In his plea explanation, Smit claims Van Wyk mocked him after stealing the fruit and this angered him.
After he knocked the boy over and placed him at the back of his bakkie, he drove home and instructed the boy to go inside where he offered him food.
“I was still very angry and wanted to punish him but I saw that he was scared and decided to give him a sandwich and a cold drink,” Smit said.
Smit said at 13 years old, he joined a Chinese occult group under a leader known as “Levine”, where he was taught to do black magic and cast spells.
He said while attending meetings in Sea Point, he claims to have participated in rituals on people to punish them and while watching the child eat, “it came over him”.
He later dismembered the child’s body and burnt certain parts in a fireplace and dumped the rest of his remains in a drain.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Smit was found guilty on all charges.
“He has been convicted on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, premeditated murder, violating a corpse and defeating the ends of justice.
“You will remember that he pleaded guilty to five counts but chose to plead guilty to reckless driving and murder (not premeditated).
“We rejected his pleas and pursued the charges we preferred against him, which included attempted murder and premeditated murder.
“The State was successful and Judge Slingers convicted him on the charges.”
Sentencing proceedings have now commenced with Smit’s defence team calling a psychologist to testify.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus