During her second day of testimony in the South Gauteng High Court in the trial which shocked the country beyond belief, the youngest accused, Marcel Steyn’s cross-examination by the state and her co-accused’s legal representatives ended, leaving the courtroom in a state of extreme tension.
In the morning session, she told the court of the constant fear she has that if she should ever leave the group, she would be killed. She testified to her belief in Cecilia Steyn and the things she told them about Satanic churches and orphans.
She explained that looking back now, she has realised there was an opportunity to tell someone about her life and the group’s criminal activities, but that she was too scared to do anything.
To read the first part of her testimony, click here.
#KrugersdorpMurders — Marcel’s revelations shock court
#KrugersdorpMurders – ‘I am sorry, I am really sorry’
She told the court that the testimony of her mother, Marinda Steyn, was an effort to get her and Cecilia off. Later in the day, she explained that Cecilia had told her and Marinda that if one of them would plead guilty and testify and make it look like she was the one who planned everything, the other two would escape jail. She (Marcel) could not do it because she was still young and there would have been too many questions about who had helped her.
She explained how she thought at first she was going to live with Cecilia for a short while, but that her mother told her this would be a permanent arrangement. She explained how Ria Groenewald was initially like a caregiver to Cecilia, but over time, she withdrew from Cecilia. Marcel got the impression that Cecilia was more committed to Ria than the other way around.
The group would allegedly buy new weapons for each murder and discard them afterward. Le Roux Steyn, her brother, would also go for walks and steal number plates from cars for them to use during their attacks.
Regarding Glen McGregor’s murder, she said that Cecilia had given certain instructions.
“Cecilia gave my mother instructions to go the bar that John Barnard had said McGregor was known to frequent,” she said.
She said the group didn’t want to use a knife to kill McGregor, because they did not want to create a pattern that could be traced back to them.
Her shocking testimony included details of how, after Kevin McAlpine’s murder, Cecilia went up to her flat, 17 Cosana in the Krugersdorp CBD, where McAlpine had already been killed and put in a dustbin to be disposed of.
“She made a joke about him being in the dustbin,” Marcel said.
She also told how the piece of meat that was found in front of Ria’s door with a note stating, “Sorry this is all the little doggies left you, now you have your own little piece of Reg”, was in fact from a pig’s head.
Another thing they would use pigs’ heads for was to practice stabbing people.
“We would practice stabbing the pig’s head in Cecilia’s room.”
Cecilia allegedly told Marcel that she had a PhD in Psychology, a degree in Anthropology and had studied to be a minister of religion.
She said that while Cecilia was allegedly a practicing psychologist, she went by the name of Dr Brandt, because this was her maiden name. And although Marcel never saw a degree certificate, Marinda had told her that medical staff at the hospital called Cecilia ‘Doctor’.
Marcel said she believed Cecilia had special powers. Marinda told her that Cecilia was a 42nd generation witch and by being one she had inherited special powers. Cecilia even named some of her ancestors.
Cecilia denied being a witch when she testified, but during the trial she was seen wearing a necklace with a Celtic knot. Celtic knots have many different meanings, one of them allegedly being that they are representations of the other world, and they have at times been associated with witchcraft.
Some of Cecilia’s powers included astral projection, mind-reading and levitation. Marcel claimed she had witnessed the phenomenon of levitation once.
When she was only 13, Marcel was told she had psychopathic demons that would never leave her and that is why she was a psychopath. For a long time, she claimed to have believed this, but all this changed after her mother was sentenced and she realised she did in fact have empathy and sympathy for others.
She decided to tell her truth when she heard the testimony of Ria and another witness. The other witness wrote a letter to her while she was in jail and the similarities between the two women’s experiences with those Cecilia claimed to have were more than just coincidence for her.
This made her see that Cecilia was lying to them all.
Read here about Cecilia’s testimony:
#KrugersdorpMurders — Cecilia Steyn mostly denying the allegations against her#KrugersdorpMurders — Cecilia Steyn mostly denying the allegations against her
Marcel told the court how she believed Cecilia had brainwashed them and that they all put a lot of trust in her.
“A lot of people came and went in the group but only the five of us stayed, because we truly believed.”
She believes that Cecilia robbed her of a normal teenage life and because of this, she harboured ill feelings toward Cecilia at times.
During her time with Cecilia and the group, she believed herself to be a Christian and was even baptised by Cecilia in her bathroom. The baptism could however not take her psychopathic demons away, according to Cecilia.
She admitted there were times that she did question her faith. One time in particular was just before Hanle Lategan’s murder.
“I was sitting in John’s [Barnard] room and I asked God if it is not His will, He should make something happen, like a family emergency, so that Hanle would cancel her appointment and not come to the flat.”
But then Hanle showed up, and became the last victim in their murder spree.
Marcel ended her testimony with Judge Ellem Jacob Francis adjourning the court to next Thursday, 23 May, for closing arguments, whereafter he will deliver his judgment.
