It was an evil deed which reflected the conduct of a hardened criminal.
This is what the judge told a former pupil of the private Rabboni Christian School in Brits, who shot and killed the school secretary in 2016.
Looking at the killer on Tuesday during sentencing, Judge Bert Bam said he deserved 53 years in prison, of which he must effectively serve 25 years.
The killer was 16 when he shot Hester Koster twice in the head at point-blank range in 2016.
He showed no emotion as the judge determined his fate, giving his family a thumbs-up sign before he was taken to the holding cells.
His mother cried bitterly during the proceedings, especially when the murdered Koster’s husband, Jan Koster, testified about the loss of his wife of 30 years.
On several occasions Judge Bam said the boy’s parents and Koster’s family were the real victims. He said he felt sorry for the youngster’s parents, as it was clear he grew up in a happy home.
The former pupil blamed his friends for his straying from the straight and narrow.
A social worker, who assessed him also said the wrong friends could possibly have influenced him.
However, Judge Bam said the “wrong friends” had already been expelled from the school by the time he shot and killed Koster on November 22, 2016.
The judge said the young killer took the lead in the killing, which he had planned with the precision of a “hardened criminal”.
Earlier, another teenager who was with him at the time pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and robbery.
He will go on trial at a later stage.
The sentenced boy pleaded guilty to five charges, including murder, and explained to the court how he stole his father’s semi-automatic firearm from the safe the day before the murder and placed it in his school bag.
His father is a member of the SA Defence Force.
“When I arrived at school I showed it to my friend. We went to the school grounds to check how many live rounds were inside the magazine.”
They then went back to class and after school waited at Koster’s car, where they asked her for a lift to town.
On the way he aimed the firearm at her and instructed her to stop the car.
He said his friend tried to tie Koster’s hands with masking tape, but she resisted. He then shot her twice in the head at point-blank range.
They left her body next to the road and drove the car to his parents’ home.
Koster’s body was discovered later that day, dumped in the bushes in Brits. A motorist returning from work found it and alerted the police.
The two boys, 16 and 17 at the time, were arrested at school the next day and charged with murder, kidnapping and hijacking.
Koster’s husband testified that she loved to work at the school and loved the children. She attended to all their problems and often bought them toys.
“She was a good wife and my best friend,” he said.
Koster said the teenager’s family wanted to offer their condolences to him shortly after the murder and he refused to meet with them because it was too painful.
He said he was now ready and willing to meet with
both the teenager and his family.
Judge Bam said the teenager’s age was the only thing that had saved him from life imprisonment.
By taking the firearm, the teenager had planned to shoot Koster to silence her after they took her car,
he said.