An Outjo resident accused of carrying out a fatal assault on his domestic partner in March 2022 has now been found guilty on a charge of murder.
Judge Claudia Claasen found Piet Gamaseb (49) guilty on a count of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday.
Gamaseb was accused of assaulting his then domestic partner, Davie Hanes (28), and inflicting fatal injuries on her at Outjo on 12 March 2022.
Hanes died as a result of head injuries, which included skull fractures and brain injuries, Claasen heard during Gamaseb’s trial.
Claasen recounted in her judgement on Wednesday that Hanes’ body was found lying on the verandah of her mother’s house on the morning of 12 March 2022, after Gamaseb had knocked at her door and told her he was looking for Hanes. The body was covered with a blanket.
Gamaseb claimed during his trial that he found Hanes intoxicated at a bar and walked home with her during the night before her death.
At their home, an argument ensued, and she fell with her head against a bed frame when they wrestled, he said. She fell again and hit her head against a plank on their kitchen floor, he said.
After that, he decided to take Hanes to her mother’s home, where he left her in the yard, Gamaseb said.
The court heard that, in addition to fatal head injuries, Hanes also had several rib fractures when she died.
A medical doctor testified that the type of head injuries that Hanes had would not have been caused by a fall that involved her hitting her head against an object like a bed frame and a plank, Claasen noted.
She also recounted that a neighbour of Gamaseb testified that he heard Gamaseb and Hanes entering their house after he had retired to bed.
The witness said he heard Gamaseb asking for meat from a pot, followed by Hanes saying he had already eaten the meat.
The witness testified that Gamaseb then began to assault Hanes, and he heard the blows. He also heard Hanes asking Gamaseb to stop and telling him he was hurting her.
“After about five minutes of silence, he heard [Hanes] breathing heavily. [Gamaseb] told her to stop snoring and continued beating her for another five to six minutes,” Claasen recounted the witness’ testimony.
A sister of Gamaseb also testified that he came to her and asked to borrow her wheelbarrow between 04h00 and 05h00 on 12 March 2022.
According to Gamaseb, he borrowed the wheelbarrow at around 05h30 to water his plants.
Claasen concluded it was “highly probable” that Gamaseb used a crowbar that was found in his yard with bloodstains on it to beat Hanes.
She rejected Gamaseb’s evidence about how Hanes was injured through two falls, and found that the evidence supported the state’s version that he used the borrowed wheelbarrow to take Hanes’ body to her mother’s house.
Gamaseb, who is being held in custody, has to return to court for a a presentence hearing on 7 October.
