Kimberley - A legal representative for Don Steenkamp, 18, who was convicted for the triple murder of his family and the rape of his sister, still has to be appointed to challenge his sentence in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein.
Steenkamp was sentenced last year for shooting and killing his father Deon, 44, mother Christel, 43, and 14-year-old sister Marthella Steenkamp on their farm Naauwhoek near Griquatown on Good Friday 2012.
Steenkamp who was 15 years old at the time, was also convicted for the rape of Marthella and defeating the ends of justice.
The application for leave to appeal the 20-year sentence that was handed down by Northern Cape High Court Judge President, Frans Kgomo, was set down to be heard on Monday.
Following negotiations between the prosecution and defence, the matter was then referred directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal. A date for the hearing has not been set yet.
Since he turned 18 years old in August last year, Steenkamp is considered an adult and he will have to be responsible for his own legal fees because he no longer falls under the care of a guardian.
He is currently held at a correctional facility for young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 years.
The former legal team, whose services were terminated shortly before judgment was supposed to have been handed down in December 2013, is in the process of claiming legal fees from Steenkamp’s then guardian, Bennie Heckroodt.
The former defence was comprised of instructing attorney Stoffel de Jager and advocates Sharon Erasmus and Willem Coetzee.
Heckroodt consequently appointed attorney Riaan Bode to take over the case. The court released R500 000 of an inheritance bequeathed to Steenkamp to assist with his legal costs in 2013.
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