A mother of three pleaded guilty to murdering her boyfriend during her appearance in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday.

Joanne Swartbooi (38) from Eden Park in Alberton faces charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. She pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend, Timothy Jacobs, with a cricket bat and burning his body. The crime took place on October 31, 2021.

Jacobs was the biological father of her three children.

“During the morning of the said day, the deceased was in the company of his cousin and they were drinking alcohol. I suspected that he was involved in another relationship. I then took his phone to check his messages. I discovered that he was communicating with the mother of his child,” read a statement that was read out by her defence before the court.

“The deceased asked me to prepare his clothes because he was leaving with his cousin. I refused because I was upset after discovering the messages on his phone,” she said.

According to Swartbooi, he pushed her against the wall and told her that she was useless.

“He then left the premises with his cousin without telling me where he was going. The deceased returned home at midnight while I was asleep with the children. He was drunk and making a noise. He fell on top of me and I pushed him away from me and he started swearing. I told him to keep quiet because the children were asleep and one of the children was sick, but he continued swearing,” she explained.

She said a scuffle ensued until they reached their bedroom.

Once inside the bedroom, Swartbooi admitted the scuffle stopped and she took a cricket bat intending to assault the deceased because she was still angry at him.

“I did unlawfully and intentionally hit the deceased with the bat on the head, which caused him to fall on top of the bed. I left him on top of the bed to check on the child who was sick and crying. Upon my return, I tried to wake him up but I noticed he was bleeding from the head and was dead,” she stated.

She told the court that the deceased died as a result of the injury he sustained.

“I admit further that when I assaulted the deceased that the intention was to injure him. However, I foresaw that hitting him on the head with a cricket bat may result in his death. I reconciled myself to that realisation. After I noticed that the deceased had passed on, I became scared and did not know what to do with the body,” she stated.

Swartbooi admitted to burning the deceased’s body and concealing the evidence.

She was found guilty on both counts and the state advocate accepted her guilty plea.

During her appearance, the presiding judge postponed the matter to June 13 for sentencing proceedings. She remains in custody.