Cape Town - A young woman who admitted to decapitating a pensioner who was helping her was found guilty in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.
Sheree Prince, 22, from Citrusdal, looked nervous and nauseous in the dock as Judge Bruce Langa handed down his judgment.
Prince is accused of breaking into the home of Sandra Malcolm, 74, in Capri Mews, Lakeside, in April 2015 and beheading her.
She was also found guilty of two charges of housebreaking and one of theft.
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On 14 April 2015, she broke into a house in Portlands, Mitchells Plain, where she stole items to the value of R18 000.
Earlier, prosecutor Advocate Liezl Herbst argued the murder was premeditated.
But Prince's defence, Advocate Leandra Adams, disagreed and said it “happened on the spur of the moment”.
Langa said the “horrifying” way in which Prince killed Sandra would count heavily against her.
“I accept the report by the forensic pathologist that the deceased was stabbed 24 times. This does not alter the accused’s guilt, but will be relevant for purpose of sentencing,” Langa said.
“The accused totally dismembered the deceased. She removed her head and all the main limbs: legs, arms and knees completely.
“An attempt to cut both her thighs in half was unsuccessful. An attempt to cut the upper torso in half was also unsuccessful. There is no justification to kill the deceased unless she planned it. It was planned and she wanted to dispose of the body,” Langa said.
In her plea statement, Prince said after breaking into Sandra’s house, the pensioner gave her food and treated her injured foot. She said she stabbed Sandra because she was afraid the pensioner would call the cops.
The matter has been postponed until April 19.