CAPE TOWN – Ten members of the Wonder Boys gang have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, with four receiving life sentences, for the brutal torture and murder of Vinchernico Theron in June 2021.
The Cape Town High Court convicted Wayne Jacobs, Jaden Abrahams, Keenan Coetzee, Thomas van der Merwe, Jonathan Beukes, Lee Malan, Miche Jacobs, Zakier Abrahams, Veronica de Jongh and Faizel Manuel on multiple charges including murder, two counts of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
“This conviction and these sentences send an unequivocal message that gang violence, torture and murder will be met with the full force of the law,” said Eric Ntabazalila, NPA spokesperson.
Accused wrongly suspected victim of stealing firearm
The court heard that Theron was last seen on 6 June 2021. Two days later, his mother reported him missing to Mitchells Plain Police Station after learning that he had been kidnapped. The investigation revealed that gang members abducted Theron after wrongly suspecting him of stealing a firearm belonging to the gang.
Senior State Advocate Steven Rubin led evidence showing that Miche Jacobs instructed gang members to bring Theron and another man, Leon Paulse, to Wayne Jacobs’ house in Drakenstein Street, Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, where they were subjected to prolonged torture.
Wayne Jacobs declared that one of the two men would die, after which the abuse escalated. Paulse was later released after his father intervened and pleaded for his son’s freedom.
Victim subjected to horrific torture before death
The court heard harrowing details of the torture inflicted on Theron, which included repeated burns with boiling water. Miche Jacobs repeatedly boiled water and supplied it to those carrying out the assault. At one point, Jaden Abrahams ripped skin from the deceased’s severely burnt abdomen.
As Theron’s condition deteriorated, De Jongh said he should be killed because he was already close to death. Abrahams and Coetzee subsequently removed the severely injured Theron from the house and handed him over to Beukes and Manuel, who placed him in a wheelie bin and disposed of his body. His remains have never been recovered.
Advocate Rubin led the evidence of seven witnesses, including Theron’s mother, Charmaine Curtis, who testified that her son was a creature of habit and invariably returned home several times a day. She told the court that after collecting lunch at home on 6 June 2021, she never saw him again.
Court rejects accused’s alibis
The accused pleaded not guilty and advanced various alibis. However, Rubin successfully argued that the state’s evidence overwhelmingly disproved their versions. The court agreed, finding the accused’s explanations to be false and improbable.
Wayne Jacobs, Van der Merwe, Malan and Zakier Abrahams were sentenced to effective life imprisonment after the court ordered the sentences on the remaining charges to run concurrently with the sentence for murder.
Jaden Abrahams was sentenced to an effective 25 years’ direct imprisonment, while Coetzee received an effective 22 years’ direct imprisonment. Miche Jacobs was sentenced to an effective 20 years’ imprisonment, and Veronica de Jongh received an effective 12 years’ imprisonment for her role in the crimes.
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Beukes and Manuel were acquitted on the charges of murder, the two counts of kidnapping and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, but were convicted of defeating the ends of justice and sentenced to an effective eight years’ direct imprisonment each.
