Cape Town - The young woman accused of murdering her girlfriend in an apparent satanic ritual claims she killed her in self-defence.
Murder accused Corrine Jackson, 20, of Woodlands, claims she only stabbed Nadine Esterhuizen, 18, of Portlands, once in the neck.
However, State prosecutor Darren Johnson shocked the courtroom on Wednesday when he stated that Jackson tried to cut Esterhuizen’s head off with a knife.
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The Athlone High School matriculant also had seven stab wounds to her head and neck and Johnson said the murder was premeditated.
Police found a cup of blood at the scene, as well as the word “sorry”, shaped on the kitchen floor with human hair.
During her bail application in the Mitchells Plain Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Jackson confirmed that she and Esterhuizen had been lesbian lovers.
Murder accused Corrine Jackson, 20, owned a Samurai sword as well as a black knife. Picture: Supplied
Jackson was dressed in a black coat, black tie, black shirt and pants, and was represented by lawyers Sylvester Vogel and Janie Vogel.
She appeared calm at first but broke down when she gave her version of chilling events of September 27.
Esterhuizen was killed at a house in Colorado Park, Mitchells Plain, which her sister was renting at the time.
Jackson told the court she owned a Samurai sword and a black knife and was a fan of Japanese animated movies.
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She had known Esterhuizen for four years and started dating her in December 2016.
She also revealed that Esterhuizen had lived with her for nearly two months this year and that the teen’s family didn’t approve of their relationship.
She claimed that a day before the murder, Esterhuizen had asked to borrow the sword to go with her Halloween costume, but she refused and gave her the black knife instead.
She said Esterhuizen was insecure, and when she posted a year-old video of her and an ex-girlfriend on Facebook, it sparked a huge argument.
“I reached forward to calm her down and she stabbed me in the chest and I threw her against the wall,” testified Jackson.
She said they wrestled and landed up in the kitchen, where she “whacked” Esterhuizen on the head.
She got hold of the same knife and stabbed Esterhuizen in the neck. She was stabbed in the hand while defending herself.
She then locked herself in the toilet where police later found her.
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The State alleges she tried to kill herself after the murder and was placed on suicide watch while being treated in hospital.
During cross-examination, Johnson confirmed Esterhuizen had opened a case of assault against Jackson and also obtained a protection order against her after she allegedly beat her up at Strandfontein Pavilion in July.
“You made many threats to kill her and stab her, it’s all here in the protection order. She said you choked her many times,” said Johnson.
Jackson admitted she choked Esterhuizen while she was sleeping.
Johnson had Esterhuizen’s family in tears when he described her injuries.
“The neck, the wound from the back, how did that happen if you said you stabbed her once? It looked like the head was going to be cut off.”
Jackson suffers from depression and an unnamed mental disorder but had been deemed fit to stand trial.
The case continues on 7 November.