WELKOM – A 62-year-old woman, Linda van den Heever, convicted of the premeditated murder of her estranged husband, André van den Heever, has been sentenced to an effective eight years’ imprisonment after the High Court found substantial and compelling circumstances justified a departure from the prescribed life sentence.

The court sentenced the woman to 15 years’ imprisonment, with seven years suspended for five years on condition that she is not convicted of murder during the suspension period. The sentence leaves her with an effective prison term of eight years. Sentencing was done on Friday 17 July in the High Court sitting in Welkom.

Van den Heever shot her husband André dead on 14 December 2021 following a domestic dispute.

The court also declared her unfit to possess a firearm and ordered her to surrender all firearm licences, firearms and related ammunition to the investigating officer within seven days.

Court weighs aggravating and mitigating factors

In handing down sentence, Judge J. Molitsoane, said the murder had been planned, noting that South African case law does not require lengthy preparation for an offence to be regarded as premeditated. Even a decision formed minutes before the act can amount to premeditation.

The court found the murder particularly serious because it involved a domestic relationship. Although the couple were no longer married, they continued living in the same home in separate bedrooms and evidence suggested they still cared for one another.

“The accused was convicted of murdering someone with whom she shared a domestic relationship and who was also the father of her children,” the judge said, adding that such crimes contribute to the country’s ongoing scourge of domestic violence.

The judge emphasised that society expects severe punishment for premeditated killings and that the interests of the community must outweigh an offender’s personal circumstances in serious crimes.

Abuse claims not corroborated

The defence argued that the accused had suffered emotional and verbal abuse at the hands of the deceased and relied on psychological evidence indicating she displayed symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

However, the court found there was insufficient evidence to support allegations that the deceased had abused her. Neither of the couple’s adult children, who testified during the trial, corroborated claims of abuse, and the accused chose not to testify about the events leading to the shooting.

The judge also questioned the sincerity of the accused’s claimed remorse, finding that her version of events remained inconsistent with other evidence presented during the trial.

Why the court reduced the sentence

Despite finding the murder to have been premeditated, the court ruled that substantial and compelling circumstances justified imposing a sentence below the prescribed minimum of life imprisonment.

Among the factors considered were the accused’s advanced age, traumatic childhood and psychological condition. Expert evidence indicated that while she exhibited several symptoms associated with PTSD, she did not meet the full diagnostic criteria at the time of assessment.

The judge said the crime had devastated both families, noting that the couple’s children were forced to testify in court against their own mother following the death of their father.

Leave to appeal partly granted

Following sentencing, the defence applied for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence, arguing that the State’s case relied on circumstantial evidence and challenging the court’s finding of premeditation.

The judge dismissed the application against the conviction, finding no reasonable prospects that another court would reach a different conclusion.

However, leave to appeal was granted against the sentence only. The judge ruled that another court may reach a different conclusion regarding the issue of premeditation and whether it affected the sentence imposed.

Van den Heever was taken into custody and led to the cells following the sentencings on Friday.

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