Judge Rosheni Allie convicted Williams on 19 charges including the murders and kidnappings of Maria Isaacs, Chantell Matthysen and Natalie Jonkers.
Ahead of being sentenced for the murders of three women, convicted Boland serial killer, Johan Williams has again slowed down the wheels of justice by firing his lawyer on Monday.
A court official confirmed the sentencing proceedings against Williams had been postponed to April 15, to allow for a new lawyer to be appointed.
On February 20, Judge Rosheni Allie convicted Williams on 19 charges in the Western Cape High Court - including the murders and kidnappings of Maria Isaacs, Chantell Matthysen and Natalie Jonkers.
Matthysen’s emotional mother, Carol Petersen said Williams was “still traumatising our family and the families of the other victims with his delaying tactics”.
“I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh at what happened. I had no idea that he could still make such demands at this stage of the matter. He has changed lawyers five or six times since his arrest and now again. The justice system allows for so much rights for perpetrators. It really made me emotional all over again as we are looking forward to justice being served but he wants to play sick games,” said Petersen.
In her judgment last month, Judge Allie said that Williams’s section 220 admissions and pointing out of the burial sites of his three murder victims provided, “proof beyond reasonable doubt that (Williams) perpetrated the counts that he is guilty of”.
During the trial, the court heard that the victims were lured by Williams under false pretences before he murdered them and buried their bodies at farms in the Boland.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, previously said the State would ask for a “severe sentence to be imposed” on Williams.
“One of the victims was his girlfriend’s mother who was kidnapped on 16 July 2012, and he only pointed out her body at Helpmekaar Farm, seven months after her disappearance. Her remains were found with a neck scarf with three knots.
“He also kidnapped a young Kuilsriver woman, whom he promised employment. This is after he befriended her family, had Christmas lunch with them, was entrusted with her by the family when she went to meet him for an employment opportunity, and the victim even called him ‘Oom Johan’. The young woman was found strangled with a black and white sock around her neck with a double knot and two sticks kept in the knot to enable him to tighten the knot with the sticks. She was face down when found.”
Ntabazalila added that, “Another desperate young woman was also kidnapped when she responded to his offer of an employment opportunity. Her body was found on 4 July 2018, with two black shoelaces around her neck with a twig in the knot that was tied double or triple and tied to the right side of her thyroid. Direct force was applied to her neck which caused injuries and blunt force was applied to her head. She was also found face down.”
Williams was found guilty on three counts of murder, four counts of rape, three counts of attempted rape, six counts of kidnapping, housebreaking with intent to commit arson and arson, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and failure to comply with a protection order.
He was acquitted for the rape of Isaacs after his defence counsel asked the court to discharge him due to insufficient evidence. The body of Isaacs had been decomposed and the State couldn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the victim was sexually assaulted.
Cape Times