The trial of the remaining three accused in the #KrugersdorpMurders has been an emotional roller coaster; not only for the families of the victims but also for the public.
The story that surfaced from the testimonies of both Cecilia Steyn and Marinda Steyn (not related) is almost too shocking to be true.
On Friday, 30 November, after more than 30 days of court proceedings and testimonies, the court decided to take a breather and postponed the case until next year. The testimony of Marinda, who has already been sentenced for her part in the murders after pleading guilty, came to a rather shocking end.
To read the first parts of her testimony, click here
Friday’s questioning started off with State Advocate Gerrit Roberts asking Marinda to identify the weapons used in the different murders. She could only identify the .38 revolver that was used to shoot Glen McGregor.
He then asked her to give the court her version of how Le Roux Steyn, her son, had shot himself. Le Roux has already been sentenced after signing a plea deal with the State.
To read more on Marinda’s testimony, click here:
She said he told her he was cleaning a small pistol she would also use sometimes, and it fell and went off. The bullet went into his upper thigh and she said doctors were worried because it looked like the bullet had split in two and was moving towards his spine. After a week in hospital doctors decided not to remove the bullet and Le Roux was sent home.
A discussion about her tattoos had Roberts asking how she reconciled her skull tattoo with her Christian faith. She said she has always been a Christian and was born again while in prison. When asked if Christians commit murder, she replied that she regarded herself as a lapsed Christian.
According to her the other inmates found it hard to believe that she was in jail for murder.
Still discussing her tattoos, Roberts asked her about the one on her finger, with the initials JM.
She said it was the initials of one of her previous loves, John, who had died in 2009. She claimed to have met him while he was picking up someone from school one day, and that Cecilia was not the one who introduced them.
To read more on Marinda’s testimony, click here:
During her earlier testimony she said that Cecilia chose a partner for each one in the group, but that they would only communicate by phone and never met in person. It later emerged that Cecilia pretended to be the partners.
Marinda said she only had one photo of John and after he had passed away she searched on the internet for men resembling John. She printed their photos and kept them in frames in her room.
When asked about Anthony Scholefield’s murder, she said she had met him four days before his death and asked him to help her with a life insurance policy.
“He didn’t strike me as someone I would feel sorry for, which made it easier to choose him as our next victim,” she said.
She told the court how she gave the victims hope and told them they would be set free if they gave their banking PINs.
When Roberts asked her why she started killing her victims, she said she wanted to feel what it was like to kill someone after Zak and Mikeila Valentine had murdered Natacha Burger and Joyce Boonzaaier.
“And how did it fee?” Roberts asked.
“It was an adrenaline rush; scary but exciting at the same time. Actually doing it gave me a feeling of relief. It relieved the tension that was building up in me,” Marinda said.
She added she never experienced the same rush again when she committed the other murders.
When confronted with a letter that was found on Ria Grunewald’s doorstep on the day of Benedixen’s funeral, she denied having written it and even looked a bit shocked by the suggestion.
She also told the court how she sneaked into Mikeila’s house and hit her over the head with a hammer. When Mikeila turned around and recognised her, she told Mikeila to start praying because she was going to kill her. While Mikeila was praying Marinda stabbed her.
Towards the end of Marinda’s testimony Roberts said to her that it was concerning that she relayed the details of the murders with little to no emotion. She responded that she is an emotional person and with the trial being broadcast live she did not want to get too emotional.
“I feel horrible but for me to sit here on camera and make a scene would not be right,” she said.
She said that she had almost three years to think about the past and the people she hurt.
She asked permission to apologise to the families of her victims because she never had the opportunity.
When permission was granted she said she was sorry for the hurt and anguish she had caused and that it was never her intention to cause harm to so many people.
“I know that I have done the right thing to confess and God has forgiven me. I can only try to help others now,” she told the judge.
The courtroom was quiet but many were seen weeping.
The trial will resume again next year when Marcel Steyn, Marinda’s daughter, will start her testimony.
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