Kimberley - The 16-year-old boy, accused of murdering three members of the Steenkamp family almost a year ago, had “big plans” following their deaths, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Monday.
Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14, were found dead on their farm Naauwhoek near Griquatown in the Northern Cape in April 2012.
According to a witness who testified in Monday, if an inheritance was granted to the accused from the Steenkamp estate, he wanted his money “to work for him”.
Marianna Smith, Deon Steenkamp’s sister, told the court that four farms and half the family business were bequeathed to the accused.
She said that the boy intended to open a petrol station and leasing some farm land.
He also wanted to sell one of the farms belonging to the Steenkamp family, as it was “difficult to farm on and was also prone to stock theft”.
Smith indicated that the boy also asked her what would happen to the two farms and the other half of the family business that Marthella would have inherited.
Smith also testified that the accused’s psychologist told him that he (the accused) would be entitled to an inheritance.
She added that the accused became agitated because the police suspected him of being responsible for the murders.
“He told me that they had sent him to consult with doctor in Douglas to investigate a scratch on his neck. He explained that he had held Marthella before she died. She accidentally torn his shirt and scratched him when she grabbed on to him and told him that she loved him.”
Smith expressed shock that the suspected attacker or attackers could still have been in the house when the accused changed his torn and bloodied shirt in one of the bedrooms.
“He was convinced that the attackers had entered the house through the back door and remained concealed in the main bathroom or bedroom.
“I found it strange that the dogs never warned the family that strangers had entered the house. The boy remembered that the dogs were barking earlier that evening. He told me that he lifted his finger in the air and said ‘ah, a farm attack’, when he heard the shots when he was still inside the shed,” Smith told the court.
She added that family members had tried to reconstruct the sequence of the events based on the information provided by the accused.
“He said that Christel was sitting in front of the computer when she was shot in the head. Marthella was found lying next to her. Deon was apparently trying to prevent the attack, but slipped and fell in the blood.
“The accused said that Marthella was trying to call for help on the landline telephone.”
No items of significant value were stolen from the house during the incident, except for a knife and a bunch of keys.
“The boy said he didn’t think of using his cell phone, which was in his pocket, to call for help at the time.”
She said that he was scared that the attackers would ambush him and decided to take the road past the farm workers’ houses towards town.
“On the way out he picked up two firearms belonging to Deon at the main gate. The magazines were empty. He said that he drove at about 120 kilometres per hour on the dirt road towards the police station.”
Smith also said that she was surprised that the intruders had not taken a heavier calibre firearm from the safe.
She indicated that the accused requested her to find out when the police would return his cell phone, which was booked as evidence.
According to the investigating officer, the boy was then still a witness and not a suspect.
The boy told Smith that he “did not have time” for the police officer who confiscated his cell phone.
Smith testified that the investigating officer asked the boy “how anyone could shoot a mother, a father and their daughter”.
“I could not believe that the accused could be responsible for the murders because he had the greatest respect for the family.”
Legal representative for the accused, Advocate Willem Coetzee, referred to an interview that Smith had with a Sunday newspaper in which she asked for forgiveness for any false allegations that were made against the accused.
Smith explained that she would apologise for any trauma that the accused had gone through in the event that he was found not guilty.
She, however, believed that the accused withheld some information regarding the events on the night of the murder (April 6 2012).
“He told me on numerous occasions that he was prepared to tell me everything.” Smith indicated that the accused later clammed up and refused to speak to anyone about the incident.
Coetzee pointed out that the accused was not inside the house during the murders.
He also denied that his client had indicated that Christel was sitting in front of the computer when she was shot.
“He explained that he had last seen her working at the computer when he went outside the house.”
The case continues today.
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