Cape Town – Why Andrew Jordaan raped and murdered Felicity Cilliers in 2007 remains a mystery, the Western Cape High Court found, as he showed no remorse for his crimes.
Jordaan, 35, was yesterday sentenced to life behind bars for raping and killing Cilliers, whose body was found on a farm off Polkadraai Road.
“The accused has shown a lack of remorse. He denied intercourse with the deceased until he was confronted with DNA evidence, after which he then changed his version to consensual sex.
"He has still not apologised to the family,” Judge Lister Nuku said during sentencing.
“Why he did it remains a mystery. The defence submitted alcohol played a part, but there’s no evidence that there was a party where he drank excessively.
"He could’ve given evidence but he refused,” Judge Nuku said.
Cilliers was a 31-year-old mother of three from Stellenbosch 12 years ago when she was raped with “excessive force”, strangled, and left for dead.
Her body was found a week after she was reported missing.
Jordaan was arrested in Ladysmith in August last year for another crime, when DNA linked him to Cilliers’ murder. Jordaan was convicted on May19.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying he had last seen the victim at a 21st birthday party.
“His defence said he had made great strides to get to the root cause of his behaviour, but this is undermined by the lack of co-operation. Despite these strides, clear indications show he has not taken responsibility for his actions,” Judge Nuku said.
Judge Nuku said women were entitled to walk the streets of the country without fear.
In a victim impact assessment report, the defence found Cilliers’ two living children, now aged 21 and 25, had resorted to drug abuse as a result of their mother’s death.
Her sister, Dalene Cilliers, said: “I’m happy with the sentence, I thank God. The sadness and pain we have endured is immense. We waited a long time for this. Hopefully now my father’s health will improve because her death affected him badly. I hope her kids will also feel the same.”
Dalene said they lived on the same farm as Jordaan.
“He was friends with my boyfriend and me. He never really knew my sister. That’s why we were surprised by what he did.”
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Jordaan was out on parole when he raped and murdered Cilliers.
“Police linked him to the rape and murder of the deceased after they compared DNA results from the previous crime scene and those found at the scene of the rape and murder of Felicity Cilliers.
"The NPA commends the smart and hard-working police officers for the work they’ve done to stop this serial killer from committing further crimes against women,” Ntabazalila said.