‘Job hunt led to murder, robbery’

A FORMER farmworker accused of strangling an elderly woman to death on a farm in the Leonardville area almost a year and a half ago pleaded guilty to murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and obstructing the course of justice in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.

The late Anna Jacoba Reed was found dead in her house on farm Arib in the Gobabis district on the morning of September 22 2006. Reed, who lived alone, would have turned 66 years of age the next day.It took close to two and a half months, until early in December 2006, before Reed’s alleged killer was arrested.Yesterday that suspect, former farmworker Hendrik Swarts (35), admitted guilt to Acting Judge Christie Liebenberg.In a plea explanation that Swarts’s defence lawyer, Boris Isaacks, read out on his client’s behalf, Swarts related that he had gone to farm Arib on September 21 2006 with the intention of asking Reed for work.By the time he left the farm, he had broken into Reed’s home, encountered her in her kitchen, and after she had tried to flee, he had strangled her with a scarf, according to Swarts’s plea explanation.The prosecution, represented by State advocate Ruben Shileka, accepted Swarts’s plea, and Acting Judge Liebenberg convicted him on the three charges on the basis of his own plea.Swarts is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.A co-accused who had been charged with Swarts, Adam Khuxab (29), pleaded not guilty.After the two men had pleaded, Shileka asked for their trials to be separated.He later told Acting Judge Liebenberg that the prosecution was withdrawing the charges against Khuxab.It is understood that it is intended to charge Khuxab again in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court, possibly only a charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, alternatively attempting to do so.In his plea explanation, Swarts related that he went to Arib to seek employment.He had not been able to find work for some eight months by then, he stated.When he arrived at Reed’s house – this was at night, according to Isaacks – Swarts however changed his mind and wanted to break into Reed’s house to steal food, as he knew she ran a small shop from her house, Swarts said.”I also saw that the house was dark inside and I found an open window through which I climb (sic),” Swarts declared.As he entered the house into the kitchen, he knocked over a wastebasket near the window, Swarts continued.He said that he then saw Reed enter the kitchen from the inside of the house, probably to investigate the noise.Reed had a torch in her hand.”(S)he saw me and turned around and started to run,” Swarts stated.”I heard that she collided with the furniture in the kitchen.”I panicked and I followed her where she fell and in this panicked state I started to strangle her with a scarf that was in my possession.”I wanted to render her incapacitated in order for me to take the food that I intended to steal from her.”I did not want to kill her but I foresaw that my action could lead to her death and mindful of this I continued to strangle her.”The deceased then died because of my strangulation.”Swarts stole more than just the food he claimed he was looking for after he had strangled Reed.He admitted that he took a money box containing N$300, a torch, a yellow bag, binoculars, toiletries and food, such as sugar, bread flour, coffee and sweets.He related that he left the money box and the binoculars at a farm called Geluk as he made his way to another farm, where his in-laws were staying.The next day, he buried the toiletries at another farm, because he feared that if the Police found these with him, they would be able to connect him to the crimes committed at Arib.A few days later he met Khuxab and told him about the crimes, “as it bothered me a lot”, Swarts added.When he again met Khuxab soon after that, he showed Khuxab the money box and binoculars that he had stolen from Reed.Khuxab asked him for money, and he gave Khuxab N$100 that he had taken from the money box, Swarts stated.After that, Khuxab buried the money box, and he buried the binoculars, Swarts stated.Arguing that Swarts’s crimes were not the kind that invoked a feeling of horror, Isaacks asked Acting Judge Liebenberg not to impose a sentence that would break Swarts.Isaacks told the court that Swarts had told him he was sorry for what he had done, that he had not wanted to commit a murder, but only wanted to go and steal food.Shileka asked that Swarts be sentenced to “a lengthy period of imprisonment”.He argued that Swarts was a danger to society who had murdered a helpless old woman who was at his mercy and could put up no resistance.Swarts appeared to have killed Reed solely to avoid being identified as the person that she found burgling her house, and he should be locked away for a long time, Shileka argued.Louis Karsten represented Khuxab.Reed, who lived alone, would have turned 66 years of age the next day.It took close to two and a half months, until early in December 2006, before Reed’s alleged killer was arrested.Yesterday that suspect, former farmworker Hendrik Swarts (35), admitted guilt to Acting Judge Christie Liebenberg.In a plea explanation that Swarts’s defence lawyer, Boris Isaacks, read out on his client’s behalf, Swarts related that he had gone to farm Arib on September 21 2006 with the intention of asking Reed for work.By the time he left the farm, he had broken into Reed’s home, encountered her in her kitchen, and after she had tried to flee, he had strangled her with a scarf, according to Swarts’s plea explanation.The prosecution, represented by State advocate Ruben Shileka, accepted Swarts’s plea, and Acting Judge Liebenberg convicted him on the three charges on the basis of his own plea.Swarts is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.A co-accused who had been charged with Swarts, Adam Khuxab (29), pleaded not guilty.After the two men had pleaded, Shileka asked for their trials to be separated.He later told Acting Judge Liebenberg that the prosecution was withdrawing the charges against Khuxab.It is understood that it is intended to charge Khuxab again in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court, possibly only a charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, alternatively attempting to do so.In his plea explanation, Swarts related that he went to Arib to seek employment.He had not been able to find work for some eight months by then, he stated.When he arrived at Reed’s house – this was at night, according to Isaacks – Swarts however changed his mind and wanted to break into Reed’s house to steal food, as he knew she ran a small shop from her house, Swarts said.”I also saw that the house was dark inside and I found an open window through which I climb (sic),” Swarts declared.As he entered the house into the kitchen, he knocked over a wastebasket near the window, Swarts continued.He said that he then saw Reed enter the kitchen from the inside of the house, probably to investigate the noise.Reed had a torch in her hand.”(S)he saw me and turned around and started to run,” Swarts stated.”I heard that she collided with the furniture in the kitchen.”I panicked and I followed her where she fell and in this panicked state I started to strangle her with a scarf that was in my possession.”I wanted to render her incapacitated in order for me to take the food that I intended to steal from her.”I did not want to kill her but I foresaw that my action could lead to her death and mindful of this I continued to strangle her.”The deceased then died because of my strangulation.”Swarts stole more than just the food he claimed he was looking for after he had strangled Reed.He admitted that he took a money box containing N$300, a torch, a yellow bag, binoculars, toiletries and food, such as sugar, bread flour, coffee and sweets.He related that he left the money box and the binoculars at a farm called Geluk as he made his way to another farm, where his in-laws were staying.The next day, he buried the toiletries at another farm, because he feared that if the Police found these with him, they would be able to connect him to the crimes committed at Arib.A few days later he met Khuxab and told him about the crimes, “as it bothered me a lot”, Swarts added.When he again met Khuxab soon after that, he showed Khuxab the money box and binoculars that he had stolen from Reed.Khuxab asked him for money, and he gave Khuxab N$100 that he had taken from the money box, Swarts stated.After that, Khuxab buried the money box, and he buried the binoculars, Swarts stated.Arguing that Swarts’s crimes were not the kind that invoked a feeling of horror, Isaacks asked Acting Judge Liebenberg not to impose a sentence that would break Swarts.Isaacks told the court that Swarts had told him he was sorry for what he had done, that he had not wanted to commit a murder, but only wanted to go and steal food.Shileka asked that Swarts be sentenced to “a lengthy period of imprisonment”.He argued that Swarts was a danger to society who had murdered a helpless old woman who was at his mercy and could put up no resistance.Swarts appeared to have killed Reed solely to avoid being identified as the person that she found burgling her house, and he should be locked away for a long time, Shileka argued.Louis Karsten represented Khuxab.