Panga killer gets 35 years

Joel Petrus (34), has been sentenced to an effective 35 years’ imprisonment for the murder of Maria Erastus (33) at their home at Epako, Gobabis, during the night of 4 to 5 August 2012.Petrus and Erastus were living together. On the day of the murder he allegedly saw an SMS message in Oshiwambo on Erastus’s cellular phone. The SMS allegedly read: “My love, I’ll come end of the month.”An argument ensued, resulting in the attack that killed Erastus. She sustained two lung-penetrating stab wounds and three deep cuts in the left side of her neck which severed major blood vessels. She bled to death.“In my view the SMS messages Petrus allegedly found on the deceased’s cellphone does not change the fact that the deceased was a vulnerable, defenceless member of society whose protection forms the core aim of the legislature promulgating the Domestic Violence Act of 2003,” High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka said.He said Namibian society requires the court’s sentences to reflect the seriousness of all murder offences committed during and after the existence of a domestic relationship between the victim and the offender.Petrus may file an appeal within 14 days.FRED GOEIEMAN

Panga killer gets 35 years

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-16

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Panga killer gets 35 years

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-16

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