Cape Town - case of Steven Fortune who has been convicted for the rape and murder of Michaela Williams, 12, was postponed yet again.
In yesterday’s court proceedings, the accused was supposed to be handed his sentence, but instead was sent for a psychological assessment.
Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “The accused has been referred to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for observation, his case has been postponed to March, 12.”
Michaela’s mother Beatrice Adams said the case was taking too long to be finalised.
The frustrated mother said: “(I’m up to here). I can’t understand why he gets to be sent to a mental hospital when we all know he is as normal as everyone else.”
Adams said she believed the assessment would have a negative impact on the case.
Adams said she did not understand why he was being treated with so much respect when he did not respect two little girls, and that there could be more but as the community, they only knew of the two.
Adams was referring to a 2005 case, involving Fortune, where he raped and stabbed an 8-year-old girl and left her for dead. He was sentenced to 20 years, but released in 2018 after serving 13 years.
She said they would have suspected a drug addict to do something like this but would not have suspected someone who befriended them.
“I want this case to be over and done with so we can move on with our lives,” she added.
It was reported that Michaela was playing outside her New Horizon home in Pelican Park when she went missing on the evening of January 7, last year.
It was reported that the accused killed the young girl by hitting her head with concrete blocks and then tying her hands with her own vest before raping her.
Fortune, 49, admitted in his statement that he lured the girl from her home, raped, then killed her because she would have recognised him if she survived.
Fortune was previously sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the rape and attempted murder of an eight-year-old girl, and he was out on parole when he killed Michaela.
Weekend Argus