Janine Wiese, mother of slain 11-year-old Annestacia, wants her daughter’s alleged killer to remain in prison for the rest of his life, she told the Cape High Court on Monday.
The mother was asked by prosecutor Mornay Julius how she felt about the loss of her daughter, and how she felt about Richard Engelbrecht, who has pleaded guilty to the girl’s rape and murder.
The mother wept as she told Judge Richard Brusser and two assessors that she is heartbroken over the death of her daughter. She said she longs for Annestacia every day and is receiving counselling to cope with her death. She is also taking medication to calm her, she said.
Wiese said only someone who has experienced the rape and murder of his or her child will understand how she feels. She added: ”I cannot describe how I feel.”
She told the court she had fetched her three children, including Annestacia, early from school on the day of the alleged rape and murder due to a ”bad feeling” that she had.
She said she knew Engelbrecht through his mother, who used to work with her, and that she had had a relationship with him. On the day that Annestacia was raped and murdered, Engelbrecht had arrived at her home early in the morning.
They sat in her bedroom and Engelbrecht said he had a surprise for her. She told him she did not like surprises as she had had a premonition that something bad was going to happen that day. She said she had had that bad feeling for a whole week already.
That morning, Engelbrecht gave her R100 to give to a neighbour, with which to buy the drug tik — for use by the three of them. After the neighbour returned with the tik, Wiese went home with it to find the back door locked. She said she always used the back door to come and go.
She said Engelbrecht unlocked the door after she had knocked, and she was overwhelmed by a bad smell in the house. She asked Engelbrecht what the smell was, and he said ”his stomach had worked”.
The mother said she went to her bedroom to find it turned upside down, with even the bedding in disarray.
The case continues. — Sapa