Book review: The murders that shook the country
Don Steenkamp was recently sentenced to an effective 20 years in prison after being found guilty of killing a Griekwastad family in 2012.
Reviewer: Riaan Engelbrecht
Book: The Griekwastad Murders
Author: Jacques Steenkamp
Publisher: Random House Struik
Rating: Delving deep into the psychological mindset of a young killer grips the imagination.
Steenkamp, who recently turned 18 and is no longer a minor, was found guilty earlier this year of killing his father Deon, his mother Christel and his sister Marthella, as well as raping Marthella and of defeating the ends of justice by lying to the police.
To read about the murders in the newspaper is one thing, but it is another to actually go behind the scenes and discover what really happened in Griekwastad on Good Friday, April 6.
Respected journalist Jacques Steenkamp, who covered the murders from the beginning and investigated the shocking events, now offers the reader an exclusive glimpse into the life of Don in a book that exposes the truth about this gruesome case.
Back in 2012, no one thought the young teenage boy, who reported the case at the town’s nearly deserted police station just before 7pm, would be a cold-blooded killer.
Although the killings were initially thought to be just another farm attack, a chain of events was set in motion when, months later, the 16-year-old youth was arrested for the murders.
The case would eventually grip South Africa.
Based on interviews with all the role players, including the investigating officers on the case, the forensic and ballistic experts, and family and friends of the deceased, this is the riveting account of what really happened on Naauwhoek farm on that fateful day, as told by the reporter who followed the case from day one.
