Pretoria -
A former insurance broker who shot dead his wife in their bedroom while their son, 4, was watching, read the Bible to her as she was dying because he wanted God to forgive her for her sins, so she’d skip hell.
Martin Badenhorst was a man who often brought out the Bible during his unhappy marriage to his wife, Yolande, the Gauteng Provincial Division of the High Court sitting in Pretoria heard.
This is according to a social worker who compiled a pre-sentencing report on Badenhorst after his murder conviction.
She said Badenhorst used to read Yolande verses from the Bible that said a wife had to obey her husband.
Badenhorst shot his wife in their Benoni home in November 2007. She begged him to call an ambulance to try to save her life.
He decided she was already dying and there was no point in calling for help.
He held her in his arms for a while before covering her body with a duvet and spending the night with his girlfriend.
He took his son to his sister’s home and without showing any emotion, told her he and his wife were going out for a drink to talk things over.
But in spite of being convicted of his wife’s murder, Badenhorst still insists he did not kill her.
He said he was playing games on his computer on that fateful night, when Yolande told him she wanted to use the computer. Badenhorst said he refused, as he knew she wanted to watch pornography.
He said she often engaged in cybersex, during which she would sit naked in front of the computer, engaging with other men.
He refused her access to the computer and an argument ensued. They went to their bedroom, and he slapped her face, he said.
The pair then noticed his firearm on the bedside table and made a dash for it. He said Yolande got hold of it and he tried to take it from her. A shot went of, hitting her in the arm. He said a second shot went off, which exited through her back.
Badenhorst said he asked her whether she was injured, but she kept on attacking him.
He lifted up her nightdress and saw she was covered in blood.
She collapsed to the floor and asked him to phone for help. After reading to her from the Bible, he realised she was dead and covered her body. He said he never saw his son standing in the doorway.
The court was told that the couple had a stormy relationship, especially after the birth of their only child. Badenhorst said his wife blamed him for the changes in her body and she started having affairs. He, too, had affairs, but he was unhappy that she cheated on him.
The social worker testified that Badenhorst regarded himself as a “sexy guy” and questioned how she could have cheated on him.
She said he had been suffering from depression since the incident and he had tried three times to commit suicide.
He also married two years after Yolande’s death, but in the meantime got divorced.
His present girlfriend, Micelle du Plessis - who during his conviction stormed out of court in fury - described Badenhorst as a loving partner. She said she had never been afraid of him and he was a good man. Judge Lettie Malopa was told that Yolande had obtained a family violence interdict against Badenhorst, for assaulting her. Her mother, Pat Havenga, told the social worker that the couple’s son was now living with her.
She said she feared Badenhorst and he had made life difficult for them since marrying her daughter.
Yolande had often wanted to leave him, but had been too afraid of him, she said. Sentencing is next month.
Pretoria News