Cape Town - A Bellville South man has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars after pleading guilty to mercilessly beating his 93-year-old grandmother to death.
Nearly three years after the shocking murder of Cynthia Doubell, her step-grandson, Keagan Samuels, 27, has come clean about the circumstances surrounding her death.
The body of the woman, affectionately known as “Oumie”, was discovered on August 1, 2021, after she had reportedly been attacked by Samuels in her home.
Her death sparked outrage amid claims that she had also been raped as Samuels handed himself over to police.
Samuels later appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court where he abandoned his bail application and the case was later transferred to the Western Cape High Court.
He was initially charged with rape, but this was later withdrawn.
He returned to court this week for the finalisation of his plea agreement where he outlined what transpired.
Samuels said that the day before the murder, he had worked in Elsies River and returned to the family home at about 3pm, but could not recall seeing Doubell there.
He later joined his friends and drank red wine, but said he wasn’t intoxicated.
When he arrived back home, he said, he found food on the stove. Before he could eat, he saw the elderly woman, who suffered from dementia, trying to leave the house, half-naked.
“She only had a top on and her bottom half was draped in a towel,” the plea statement reads.
“He slammed the gate shut and yelled at her.
“She resisted and a physical struggle ensued; the way she reacted made him very angry.
“He slapped her and in the heat of the moment he also kicked and stepped on her.
“He can recall hitting her in the face and on her chest, but not where on her body he stepped on her.
“After the assault, she was lying on the floor, so he picked her up, placed her on the bed and left her there.”
Two relatives later arrived at the family home and when the elderly woman asked for water, Samuels allegedly refused, saying she had food and water in her bedroom. The next day, he left the home and on his return, he saw police and went to the police station, where he handed himself over and admitted to assaulting the woman.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said while Samuels was sentenced to 25 years, he would actually only serve 20 years.
“The court suspended five years of the 25-year sentence for 10 years on condition that he is not convicted for murder or attempted murder committed during the period of suspension.
“The parties agreed to the sentence as Samuels had displayed genuine remorse for his actions by handing himself over to the police, was capable of rehabilitation, and that a lengthy period of direct imprisonment would assist in reaching the objectives of sentencing.”