Magistrate Mitzi Schutte sentenced Chris Ehlers (48), a father of three, to an effective 20 years imprisonment, for shooting dead his friendm at the Petit-based Duck Inn pub, in December, 2012.
Prosecutor Etienne Venter called the bereaved mother, Marie Roos, to the stand on the day her son’s killer was sentenced for the murder.
“Leon also had three children,” said an emotional Marie on the witness stand.
“The one (Dedrei) turned eight on the day after Leon’s death.
“Leon cared very much for his children, he loved them.
“…Before Leon died, he bought his daughter a laptop which he would have given to her on the 20th (December 20, 2012), the day he was shot dead.
“It was stolen out of the vehicle at the murder scene.”
Marie broke down in a fit of crying when she spoke of the remark made to her granddaughter.
“When the school reopened in 2013, Dedrei – when she got to school – was teased by family of the accused, who said, ‘my uncle shot dead your father’,” said Marie.
Schutte called on Marie’s son, Marius, to sit with his shaken mother in the witness stand after this submission.
Marie later went on to say her grandson, Alec (now 15 years old), sent a WhatsApp message in the past saying ‘I hate Chris Ehlers, he killed my father’.”
Ehlers was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder, five years for the unlawful possession of a firearm and 12 months for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
The 12-month sentence will run concurrently with the five year sentence, meaning Ehlers will serve an effective 20 years.
Schutte also declared Ehlers unfit to possess a firearm in future.
The magistrate took the following into account in mitigation of sentence:
- It was the first time Ehlers was convicted of murder and a gun-related crime.
- He has a dependent child of 10 years old and is a breadwinner.
- Alcohol played a role in the shooting incident.
- He has employment through his business, D C Protection Polygraph Services.
Aggravating circumstances include:
- Roos had three children.
- His mother, Marie, was dependent on financial support from Roos.
- Ehlers showed no remorse for the crime.
- Ehlers was found to have caused the argument which resulted in the shooting.
- He did not abandon the fight; choosing to shoot Roos.
Marie was pleased with the sentence handed down to Ehlers.
“It’s fine, I am happy with it,” she said, adding that no sentence would bring her son back, but she was happy that Ehlers had received a suitable sentence.
“I am happy; the magistrate was very fair,” she said.
Ehlers will serve his sentence in Modderbee Prison.
Defence advocate JP Myburgh has applied for leave to appeal on behalf of his client.
Upbringing affected Ehlers’s life
Chris Ehlers’s upbringing had a “serious, negative impact on his development”, according to social worker Elza Cilliers.
Cilliers, who has been a social worker for 28 years, delivered a pre-sentencing report in the Benoni Regional Court on April 9.
She told the court that Ehlers’s parents separated when he was three years old.
He grew up in a home in which his stepfather allegedly abused alcohol and physically and emotionally abused him and his mother.
“His relationship with his stepfather gradually weakened,” said Cilliers.
The social worker told the court that Ehlers’s father shot at him while he was in his matric year.
Cilliers added that he stopped using alcohol after shooting dead his friend, after years of alcohol abuse.
Ehlers is said to have forged a stronger relationship with God, and testified in his church about the negative impact of alcohol on people’s lives.
The murderer is on chronic medication for high blood pressure and has been diagnosed as bi-polar.
