Baby killed by mother was defenceless, judge says

“The child was utterly defenceless.” With this remark, judge Philanda Christiaan on Friday concluded a description of the stab wounds that ended the life of Amare Boois (1) at a farm in the Bethanie area in the ||Kharas region on 12 January 2023.

The events that took place at the farm on that day were “a profound tragedy”, Christiaan said.
She stated: “A mother, entrusted with the fragile life of her infant son, chose instead to extinguish it in an act of violence that shocked the conscience of this court and the community at large.”

Two years and 10 months after the events, Amare’s mother, former police officer Lucia Boois (37), stood in the dock in the Windhoek High Court on Friday to hear that she was being sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment for murdering her son.

Boois was found guilty on a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, and a count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice last Tuesday.

Christiaan found that the state proved during Boois’ trial that she murdered Amare on 12 January 2023 and then buried his body in a shallow grave.

Amare was stabbed eight times in the neck and seven times in the abdomen and back, a doctor who examined his body recorded in a post-mortem examination report.

After Amare was killed, Boois buried his body in a shallow grave. During Boois’ trial, which started in August, the court was told that a Bible was found placed on Amare’s body when the grave in which he had been buried was opened.
Boois’ footprints were followed from the grave and she was found lying under a tree about 9km from the scene where Amare had been buried, the court was told.

A police officer testified during Boois’ trial that she said, when the officer approached her: “I know why you are looking for me, I killed my baby.”

The police officer observed self-inflicted cuts on the inside of Boois’ arms and told the court that she also said: “I sent my child to a better place.”

In a police statement provided after her arrest, Boois said: “I got tired of all these problems and decided to kill myself and my son. At least he won’t suffer any more.”

During the sentencing, Christiaan said Amare “was entitled to protection, care and nurturing from his mother, who was his primary caregiver”.

She continued: “Instead, the accused violated this most fundamental duty by unlawfully taking the life she was entrusted to safeguard. Such conduct not only undermines the sanctity of life but also erodes the trust society places in the family as the first line of protection for its most vulnerable members.”

Before the start of Boois’ trial, a psychiatrist reported to the court that she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, combined with depressive symptoms, but that she was fit to stand trial, although she acted with diminished criminal responsibility.

“While diminished responsibility is a factor to be considered in mitigation, its weight is limited in light of her coherent and deliberate actions before and after the offence,” the judge said during the sentencing.

She sentenced Boois to 23 years’ imprisonment on the murder charge and to a concurrent jail term of two years on the count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

Boois elected to stand trial without legal representation. State advocate Emma Mayavero represented the prosecution.

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