Johannesburg - A teenage girl who survived a satanic assault which resulted in the death of Kirsty Theologo testified on Friday about her fear of fire.
“Watching a fire burn scares the hell out of me,” she said in the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in Palm Ridge.
She was 14 when she and Theologo were assaulted, doused with petrol and set alight in a satanic soul-selling ritual on a hill in Linmeyer, Johannesburg, in October 2011.
Theologo died of her injuries a week later in hospital. Her friend, now 16 years old, survived the attack.
She was testifying before the sentencing of Lindon Wagner and his cousin Robin Harwood. The two were convicted on Thursday of Theologo's murder and her friend's attempted murder.
Another of the accused, Harvey Isha, was acquitted on Thursday after Judge Geraldine Borchers found his evidence believable. He had told the court he had no part in Theologo's killing and had watched from behind a tree as his friends attacked her.
The fourth accused, Courtney Daniels, was found guilty of common assault for lacing the victims' drinks with brake fluid. She was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for five years.
Two other men, Lester Moody and Jeremy King, previously confessed to the crime and were sentenced to 17 years in prison, five of them suspended.
The teenager told the court she was afraid to trust any man.
“We trusted you and we were committed to you,” she said, addressing Wagner and Harwood.
“We met you in church. And Kirsty and I had said we wanted to come and stay by you,” she said, looking at the two.
“I'm scared to get a boyfriend now... What if he does the same thing?”
She said she would never be able to be intimate with a man because of the burn scars on her chest and neck.
She turned to the two convicted men and said she forgave them.
“From the top to the bottom of my heart, I forgive you,” she said.
“I miss the moments we had.”
She said her life had changed since the incident, and her relationship with her mother had broken down. She was living with a family that she met through a church camp.
Earlier, Theologo's mother took the stand and said she would never forgive Wagner and Harwood for taking her daughter from her. - Sapa