* This story has been edited to remove the nine-year-old girl's name.
Cape Town - Kyle Maspero, the teen charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s mother, Rosemary Theron, spent time in three foster homes after the death of his own mother when he was five, was expelled from school for drug use and theft and then abandoned his matric studies earlier this year to move to Cape Town.
The details, some of the first to emerge since the arrest of Maspero and girlfriend Phoenix Racing Cloud Theron for the murder of Theron’s mother, shed some light on the life of Maspero, who has up to now been something of a mysterious figure in the shocking story.
The 18-year-old’s last foster father, who did not want to be named, said the teen had lived in two foster homes before moving in with him.
Theron had attended Fish Hoek High School before moving back to Knysna to live with her father.
While the schools that Maspero and Theron attended on the Garden Route were loathe to be identified, information shared on social media sites points to Theron being a member of a band called Painless and Maspero being a participant in Capoiera martial arts classes.
Maspero was expelled from school in 2011 as a result of drug use, sources revealed. He then went to another school where, following two cases of theft, he was again expelled.
After spending some time in rehabilitation, he decided to restart his studies last year and returned to classes. But the principal said the decision to readmit Maspero was on the basis that the teen was no longer using drugs. And it soon became apparent that this was not the case.
The principal described Maspero as a “challenging” and “troubled” child.
At the beginning of this year Maspero threw up his studies to move to Cape Town with Theron. He told his foster parent that he would take care of his own education.
“I didn’t want him to go but he was adamant,” his foster father said.
Shocking revelations came to light in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court earlier this week of how 39-year-old Rosemary Theron was strangled from behind in her Clovelly home, the news leaving loved ones reeling and battling to understand the motives.
For months after reporting Rosemary missing on March 7, Theron, 18, and Maspero ferried her nine-year-old sister to school and back.
It was alleged in court proceedings that, on the night of the killing, Theron smoked drugs with Maspero as the two conspired to kill an unsuspecting Rosemary.
The court heard that after apologising to her mother, Theron allegedly hugged her and said “sorry for fighting”, as Maspero approached from behind and allegedly strangled the mother to death with a rope.
The pair then allegedly wrapped the dead woman in a pink blanket, and buried her in a field close to their Clovelly home. The plot was revealed when the third accused, Godfrey Scheepers, 20, confessed to police. He had helped move the body to a shallow grave along Baden Powell Drive where it was dug up last week.
Scheepers was released on bail of R500, while Maspero and Theron are being held in Pollsmoor Prison until they return to court to apply for bail next Thursday.
Maspero’s foster father said this week that while speculation was rife, it was pointless.
“Everyone is in shock. All we can talk about is emotions because we don’t know anything more at this stage,” he said, adding that he was confident that the legal process would reveal the facts.
Maspero turned 18 in July, and will stand trial as an adult in spite of the fact that the incident occurred when he was 17.
“If the kids did it, it is an absolute tragedy,” said Maspero’s foster parent, who added that he had had minimal contact with Maspero since he and Theron moved to Cape Town in February.
Weekend Argus