Pretoria -
An Eersterust man who claimed his rape and murder victim “provoked” him by threatening to send her brothers after him was sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Emilio Jacobs, 24, showed little emotion when Judge George Webster sentenced him to life, plus 10 years' imprisonment for the murder and rape of Vanessa Buys, 29, in December 2009.
Buys was a police reservist and was raising two children on her own.
Her 71-year-old mother Patricia wept quietly while Jacobs was being sentenced. She now relies on piece jobs to earn an income with which to raise her grandchildren.
Buys sen. said her daughter had been loved by everyone in Eersterust.
“She was always happy and friendly. She trusted everyone.
“My heart is broken about what he (Jacobs) did, but if I cannot forgive him, how can I expect to receive forgiveness?” she said.
Buys' half-naked body was found in a veld in Eersterust just hours after she was last seen alive.
She had bled to death after being stabbed several times in the neck. She also had numerous scratches and bruises on her body.
Jacobs admitted to raping her before stabbing her to death with a broken bottle.
In an explanation of plea, he said he started drinking early that day and also used drugs.
Buys arrived at home in the early hours of the morning and both of them walked to a nearby garage to buy cigarettes.
“We argued the whole time. She constantly wanted money to buy drugs.
“After we bought the cigarettes, we had a physical fight because she was looking for drugs. I grabbed her, throttled her and pushed her onto the ground.
“I let her go and started to walk away, but she screamed and swore at me and threatened to put her brothers on me.
“After she tried to throw me with a bottle (sic), I became very angry, turned around, picked up the bottle and took her to the veld near the road where I raped her.
“After I raped her I broke the bottle and stabbed her... I left her there and went home,” Jacobs said.
His legal representative argued that Jacobs could not be held fully accountable for his actions because he had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol and because Buys had threatened him.
However, Webster said Jacobs had a clear memory of the incident, clearly knew what he had done and had never been in any danger.
He said a victim’s life was not rendered cheap simply because their attacker had used alcohol and drugs to feel better.
It was regrettable that with all the progress made in the country, the incidents of violence against defenceless women remained static, he said. - Sapa