KNYSNA NEWS - The Regional Court in Knysna has sentenced Chelry Smith to effective life imprisonment for the murder of his lover, Hazel Georgina Shariefa Augustus.

Smith was also sentenced to 15 years' direct imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Regional Court prosecutor Aspirito Riccardo White relied on circumstantial evidence, medical reports, and the evidence of witnesses who the accused spoke to after the murder.

White also proved the contradictory reports the accused made to the witnesses after the incident indicated that he lied about his knowledge of what happened in the early hours of 23 December 2012.

Smith was charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and he pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He successfully applied under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act for the dismissal of the charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Romantic relationship

White led six witnesses who testified that the accused and the deceased were in a romantic relationship for a month before her murder.

The deceased and her family celebrated her mother's 60th birthday on 22 December 2012, and the "young people" moved to different taverns after the formal celebrations at the community hall and family home in New Horizons in Plettenberg Bay.

Smith was the last person seen with Augustus in the early hours of 23 December 2012 at Job's Tavern. She was found dead, and her cellphone was missing.

Cellphone

The cellphone, which was switched off on the day of the murder, and switched on again only on 12 January 2013, was found under the mattress where the accused stayed.

He claimed that he and the deceased went to sit under a tree and were kissing when "Ricardo" attacked him and hit him on the left side of his face, breaking his jaw.

He grabbed his and the deceased's cellphone and ran away, leaving the deceased behind.

He further claimed that as he was running away from Ricardo, he noticed that the deceased was with Monique Augustus, who was related to the deceased.

Went home to sleep

After running away he went home to sleep without telling anyone about the attack. He returned to where he left the deceased, found her lying on her back and saw a knife handle lying in front of her, and he panicked because people had last seen the deceased when she was with him, and knew his history.

He went to her home to inform her family but found Ricardo and Monique outside; he asked Ricardo if the deceased was home and he said no, not yet.

White argued that the accused initially made a reasonable impression when testifying in his evidence-in-chief but soon demonstrated a marked inability to give plausible explanations for his "new improved version" of events, and his actions on the day in question.

Contradictions

His version of events contained numerous contradictions, inconsistencies and improbabilities, and was not reasonably, possibly true and should be rejected in total.

The court found that they had discharged the onus bestowed on it and had proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

The court ruled that a human being had been killed and therefore mere technicalities could not be given credence to the point of absolving an accused from criminal liability.

Officer praised

Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Nicolete Bell, commended the investigating officer, Warrant Officer John Nomdoe, the prosecutor, the witnesses and the community who worked around the clock to ensure a conviction and sentence in this case.

The case faced many challenges and was on the verge of being declared an inquest, but their tenacity helped to ensure justice for this family despite the delays.

There were no suspects linked to the murder as the accused at the time was treated as a witness and not an accused.

The docket was then referred to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for an inquest but a decision was taken to charge the accused with the murder of the deceased.

At the time of her death she was 33 years old and a single mother of three.

Sentencing took place on 5 September.

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