Man gets life for killing retired teacher
Keetmanshoop resident Jan Benedictus Fredericks, 29, has been jailed for life for the murder of a retired teacher at the town.
He was sentenced on Tuesday in the Windhoek High Court.
Life imprisonment requires a convict to serve a minimum of 25 years in jail.
According to the Prisons Act, a prisoner has to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Fredericks was found guilty on 16 October of murder with direct intent to kill and robbery with aggravating circumstances in connection with the death of retired teacher Magrietha Aletta Thirion.
He hit the 64-year-old Thirion over the head with a wooden pole at her residence on 6 November 2012. Thirion died due to severe head injuries in the Katutura state hospital the following day.
Fredericks was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, while his 15-year sentence for robbery, after stealing bedding, a cellphone and laptop, will run concurrently.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo handed down the sentence.
State advocate Dominic Lisulo had asked the court for a sentence of not less than 35 years for the murder and 10 years for robbery.
He also asked that the robbery sentence run concurrently with the jail term imposed for murder.
Legal Aid lawyer Mbanga Siyomuinji, representing the accused, pleaded with the court to show mercy and not impose a heavy sentence that will damage his client's chances of rehabilitation.
Fredericks is a first-time offender and attended school up to Grade 10, before he started working at Agra in Keetmanshoop.
He will serve his sentence at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
NAMPA
He was sentenced on Tuesday in the Windhoek High Court.
Life imprisonment requires a convict to serve a minimum of 25 years in jail.
According to the Prisons Act, a prisoner has to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Fredericks was found guilty on 16 October of murder with direct intent to kill and robbery with aggravating circumstances in connection with the death of retired teacher Magrietha Aletta Thirion.
He hit the 64-year-old Thirion over the head with a wooden pole at her residence on 6 November 2012. Thirion died due to severe head injuries in the Katutura state hospital the following day.
Fredericks was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, while his 15-year sentence for robbery, after stealing bedding, a cellphone and laptop, will run concurrently.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo handed down the sentence.
State advocate Dominic Lisulo had asked the court for a sentence of not less than 35 years for the murder and 10 years for robbery.
He also asked that the robbery sentence run concurrently with the jail term imposed for murder.
Legal Aid lawyer Mbanga Siyomuinji, representing the accused, pleaded with the court to show mercy and not impose a heavy sentence that will damage his client's chances of rehabilitation.
Fredericks is a first-time offender and attended school up to Grade 10, before he started working at Agra in Keetmanshoop.
He will serve his sentence at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
NAMPA
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article