The Mossel Bay Regional Court has sentenced Johan Counter to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl.
Counter admitted that he met the girl when he visited his nephew at Groot Sergfontein Farm on January 29, 2023.
“He was drinking with his nephew and his friends, and the victim, 15, was also drinking with them,” NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said.
At some time around midnight, she went outside the house where they were drinking, and Counter followed her.
“He told her that they must find a spot where they could engage in sexual intercourse, but she refused.
He grabbed and pushed her to a secluded area next to a water tank.
She attempted to fight him off, but he overpowered her and raped her. She attempted to scream but he wrapped his hands around her neck and strangled her.
“He realised that she was no longer resisting, pulled her body up to a sitting position but it slid to the side, and she did not respond when he called her name. He admitted that he knew that when he strangled her, he might kill her but because he didn’t want her to scream to be heard by other people in the house, he reconciled himself with the outcome,” Ntabazalila said.
Counter went back to the house and did not tell anyone about what he had done. The girl’s body was discovered the following day and Counter’s nephew asked if he had killed her. He could not answer him, and the friends and his nephew called the owner of the farm who called the police and Counter was arrested.
“He admitted that although he drank alcohol, he could appreciate between right and wrong. He knew his actions were unlawful and that he could be convicted and punished for conducting himself in that manner,” Ntabazalila said.
The court convicted Counter on charges of rape and murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment for each of the charges, ordering the sentences to run concurrently.
Cape Times