After 33 months in custody and constant requests from his legal counsel for postponements, JJ Peters finally pleaded guilty in the Nelspruit Regional Court on October 1.
He was charged with murdering his grandmother, Sannie Strydom Kilmister (68), with whom he had been staying, on February 28, 2022.
Peters appeared in court on Tuesday for the first part of the trial. He was initially charged with murder, malicious damage to property and defeating or obstructing the course of justice. However, the State withdrew two charges and he only faced the murder one.
After I was told to kill my grandmother, I did not go against it. I went to the house I was sharing with my grandmother and grabbed a police stick.
During his appearance, Peters told the court how he had killed his grandmother after being influenced by one of his friends. “After I was told to kill my grandmother, I did not go against it. I went to the house I was sharing with my grandmother and grabbed a police stick. I hit her on the head while she was standing, and she fell to the ground. Then I grabbed her by her neck and strangled her. She tried to fight back, but I continued to hold her until she was motionless. When I realised she was dead, I cleaned the blood in the room,” he said.
Kilmister was throttled so hard that ligature marks were found on her neck.
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Peters told the court he is aware what he did is against the law, and that Kilmister had died because of his actions. He did not deny it that his intention was to kill her, and said he is prepared to take whatever punishment the court decides. Peters said he regretted his actions.
After the plea of guilt, all five witnesses were informed they would not need to testify and were allowed to leave. Some of them told Lowvelder they were relieved the matter has been dealt with, since it has been dragging on for a long time. The National Prosecution Authority accepted the plea.
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Peters will officially be sentenced on November 5. Both the State and defence want the Department of Correctional Services to do a background check on Peters, to determine where exactly he was born, whether he had a stable home before committing the crime and if he had a support system in his family. The report will be presented to court before the judge passes a sentence.
Peters will remain in custody until then.
