The trial against the man who brutally murdered a young Schauderville mother by inflicting multiple stab wounds across her body and slitting her throat concluded on Tuesday.
Quinton Scheepers, 24, was handed a sentence of 18 years imprisonment for the brutal murder of Shenice "Fetu" Jonathan on 6 August 2020.
Her mutilated body was discovered the next day in what is known as "Die Kampie" with multiple stab wounds.
Jonathan's murder, two days before Women's Day, sent shockwaves and outrage through the Schauderville community.
At the time of her death, Jonathan's daughter was just 20 months old.
Also read: GQ man convicted of killing Shenice Jonathan four years ago
Magistrate Wesley Reid concurred with State Prosecutor Kim Barrath-Hendricks, who argued that the minimum prescribed sentence of 15 years imprisonment for a non-premeditated murder would not be just.
According to Reid, a 15-year sentence would have been disproportionate, considering the nature of the murder and the brutality displayed towards the deceased.
He noted that she had been stabbed 40 times and had her throat slit, stating that the murder was "horrific".
After listing the barrage of stab wounds inflicted on Jonathan, Reid said it was a brutal and heartless assault on a powerless woman in our society.
He said she was a woman who in all probabilities pleaded for mercy and pleaded that the attack would stop, but her cries for mercy went unanswered.
"It is clear that you must be removed from society for a long period.
"The community must be protected from someone who acted in such a brutal manner without remorse," said Reid.
A letter from the family
On Monday during pre-sentence proceedings, Barath-Hendricks read a letter that Jonathan's mother, Mercia, had written on behalf of the family.
Reid said her letter truly outlined the family's pain and suffering and can be construed as "the voice of the victim."
In the letter, Mercia said they never got to say goodbye.
She expressed profound sadness that her daughter was "stolen" from them as a result of Scheepers' actions, but more so that Jonathan was taken from her own daughter, Jordan, who was 20 months old at the time of her death.
Seeing her daughter's body at the murder scene still haunts her to this day.
Speaking after the sentence, Jonathan's sister, Sherron, said they had been waiting for that moment for four years.
She said she was grateful for the sentence, even though it would not bring her sister back.
When he was ushered to the holding cells after his sentence, Scheepers angrily told his mother, who was seated in the public gallery not to cry.
His uncle, Melvin Scheepers apologised to the Jonathan family.
He said he sympathised with their plight and heartache and that he hoped that Quinton (Scheepers) would serve his time so that everyone could move on from what had happened.
