A woman who was found strangled in her locked bedroom in the Rehoboth area in February 2023 was murdered by her former boyfriend after she rebuffed a sexual advance from him, a High Court judge concluded in a judgement delivered on Tuesday.
“The evidence is overwhelming against the accused,” judge Dinnah Usiku said in the judgement in which she found Henry Murphy (46) guilty on a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, and a count of obstructing the course of justice.
Murphy was accused of murdering a Rehoboth district resident, Christiana Beukes (36), at Bahnhof, situated east of Rehoboth, during the night of 3 to 4 March 2023.
He was also accused of trying to obstruct the police’s investigation of Beukes’ death by concealing footprints on the ground outside the room where Beukes was found dead.
Beukes was found dead in the room where she stayed on the morning of 4 March 2023. The room was locked from the inside.
Murphy denied guilt on both charges during his trial.
Usiku noted in her judgement that an alibi on which Murphy relied – he claimed he had been at a farm during the night that Beukes was killed – was disclosed to the court only when he testified in his own defence during the trial.
The alibi had not been put to state witnesses during the trial to give them an opportunity to respond to it, Usiku recorded.
She said a confession that Murphy made to a senior police officer shortly after his arrest and evidence about him pointing out the crime scene to a police officer were received as evidence during the trial without objection from Murphy and his defence lawyer.
In his confession, Murphy set out in detail how events unfolded during the night that Beukes was killed, Usiku said.
He said he entered Beukes’ room after climbing through a toilet window, which was broken and not protected by burglar bars.
Murphy said he approached Beukes where she sat on a bed, grabbed her by her neck with both his hands, and strangled her despite pleas from her for him to stop.
He stopped only when she stopped kicking and pushing him away, Murphy also said.
According to him, he attacked Beukes because he was upset by a remark she had made when he asked her to have intercourse with him the previous evening.
Beukes responded to his request by telling him in vulgar terms to have intercourse with his mother instead, Murphy said.
Usiku said DNA evidence linked Murphy to Beukes, with Murphy’s DNA having been found under Beukes’ fingernails.
Witnesses told the court that Murphy and Beukes had been involved in a romantic relationship which had ended before her death.
Murphy, however, claimed he and Beukes were still involved in a relationship at the time of her death.
Murphy was free on bail during his trial. His bail was withdrawn after he was found guilty.
He has to return to court for a presentence hearing on 16 October.
Defence lawyer Charles Beukes is representing Murphy.
State advocate Johannes Inongelwa is representing the prosecution.
