#KrugersdorpMurders: Interesting facts about serial killers Marinda, Leroux and Marcel
A school teacher, a top matric student and a son who will never see each other again?
The sentencing of two of the five accused of murdering 11 people – better known as the #KrugersdorpMurders brought some new facts about the Steyn family – mother Marinda, daughter Marcel and her son Leroux – to light.
Also read: #KrugersdorpMurders: Mother Marinda sentenced
Marinda and Leroux were sentenced yesterday, 16 May, in the South Gauteng: Johannesburg High Court after signing plea bargains.
Here are some of the facts:
• Marinda Steyn (51)
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
During court proceedings, many referred to Marinda’s uncanny resemblance to Daisy de Melker, the first woman to be hanged in South Africa for murdering her two husbands and her son.
Marinda was a teacher at Hoërskool Jan de Klerk and had ammunition stashed in her classroom. She was described by one of the learners as “That weird teacher who always kept to herself. She used to stay in her classroom during breaks and often kept the doors closed.”
She received a 390-year sentence after signing a plea bargain with the State. Marinda will serve her time in the Johannesburg South Prison and will most likely never see her children again. She was convicted of 11 murders (25 years for each) and 115 years for all other crimes she committed which included fraud, racketeering and managing an enterprise, illegal possession of ammunition and firearms, defeating the ends of justice, robbery, and accessory after the fact of murder.
At her sentencing appearance, Judge Lamont asked her if she had understood the claims against her and the consequences of her actions. Her emotionless reply was: “One has choices and you need to bear the consequences.”
She also mocked photographers and said, “What will you do if I stick out my tongue?”
• Leroux Steyn (22)
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
He was sentenced to 35 years immediate imprisonment with a 10-year suspended sentence.
He will most likely never see his mother or sister or the rest of the group again. He would have served a 373 year sentence if he had not signed a plea bargain. Many who attended the court proceedings commented that his sentence was too light, believing that he played a big part in the murders.
He was convicted of seven murders for which he would have received seven life sentences (175 years), burglary with aggravating circumstances (75 years), illegal possession of a firearm (eight years), illegal possession of ammunition (three years), racketeering (three years), conspiracy to murder (15 years), fraud (15 years), credit card fraud (three years), and defeating the ends of justice (one year).
It’s believed he will serve his time in Kroonstad Prison because the Johannesburg Prison is too full to accommodate him.
• Marcel Steyn (19)
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
Marcel Steyn was just 14 years old when the first murder was committed. There was no conclusive evidence that she had ever killed any one of the victims, however, it is speculated that she accompanied her mother, Marinda, on her murder spree.
She matriculated from Hoërskool Monument and achieved six distinctions. By the time she graduated high school, the group had already allegedly committed the 11 murders. If she signs a plea bargain with the State, she will receive more or less the same sentence as her brother, Leroux, because she was still a minor when many of these crimes were committed.
The remaining three accused: Marcel Steyn, Cecilia Steyn and Zak Valentine, still have time to sign plea bargains with the State before their trial starts on 8 October.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.I
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