WATCH: Angry Tulbagh locals baying for alleged child killer’s blood
Police and prison warders had to repeatedly return Jakobus Petoors, 58, to the holding cells as pandemonium broke out in the courtroom.
Reagan Gertse, 8, who was found murdered outside Tulbagh, 2 March 2020. Picture: Twitter / @menzikulati
Child murder accused and parolee Jakobus Petoors was removed from the packed Tulbagh Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday as angry locals in the gallery attempted to assault him in the dock when he appeared for the murder of Reagan Gertse, 8.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) provincial spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said police and prison warders had to repeatedly return Petoors, 58, to the holding cells as pandemonium broke out in the courtroom.
“Some members of the public, including the father and mother of the deceased, had to leave the court before proceedings started as they could not hold their screams,” he said.
Enough is Enough !! Demonstrations in Tulbagh outside the court of the accused rapist and murderer of 8 year old boy Reagan #stopthedeaths #tulbagh #ChildrenUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/Ep6fW9lQ69
— Gavin Meiring (@Gavinmayring) March 3, 2020
Prosecutor Kezia Lackay applied for the matter to be postponed as the situation inside the court was “too volatile to continue with the accused [present]”.
Petoors’ parole was cancelled following his arrest for Reagan’s murder on Sunday – the same day he went missing.
Detectives acted on leads which resulted in Petoors’ arrest on charges of abduction, rape and murder.
The case was postponed to 2 June for DNA results and further investigation.
Petoors is understood to have been convicted of rape and had been released on parole in November 2019.
He did not apply for bail on Tuesday.
The court also heard that should he make an application, he would be unsuccessful as he had breached his bail conditions.
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