A man who murdered and dismembered his mother was handed a life sentence in the Free State High Court.
Teboho Abram Mokoena, 31, killed his mother, 65-year-old Modiehi Anna Khodumo, in June last year.
In addition to life imprisonment, Mokoena – a drug addict, according to court evidence – received a further five-year sentence for stabbing his father several times.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Judge Joseph Mhlambi slapped Mokoena with an additional 12 months’ imprisonment for malicious damage to property.
Shuping said on June 7 last year, Mokoena’s father was looking for Khodumo at home.
He found his son in the “garage packing the remains of (his) mother in a plastic bag”.
When the father asked Mokoena what he was doing, Mokoena stabbed him several times.
“The police were called to the house, and made a gruesome discovery when they found a grinder as well as human remains, which had been cut into pieces in the garage. It was believed the deceased was killed between June 5 and 7, 2022.
“The accused had a tumultuous relationship with his parents because of his alleged use of drugs and demands for money,” said Shuping.
In aggravation of sentencing, the State prosecutor, advocate Nono Mkhabela, presented victim-impact statements to the court from the daughter, brother and ex-husband of the dead woman.
“The daughter said she could not perform at university and had to repeat a semester because of the incident and the ex-husband said his son took away the most innocent soul who was not only a pillar of strength to the family, but to the community.
“Mkhabela told the court the accused was convicted of three serious offences that were prevalent not only in the province but in the country, and a common denominator of the offences was that they all had the element of violence.
“The accused did not show any remorse for his actions, he was clearly motivated by selfishness, a sense of entitlement and greed, and the court must not deviate from the minimum sentence prescribed by the law, which will also send a message to would-be killers that the courts will deal with them harshly if they commit such crimes,” said Shuping.
Cape Times