A Knysna man who pleaded guilty murdering his ex-partner by stabbing her in the neck after she intervened while he attempted to stab their daughter, convinced the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence when he got 12 years’ imprisonment.

The Knysna Regional Court has sentenced Petrus Maritz following his guilty plea to murdering Nolene Jones.

Maritz pleaded guilty in terms of Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, and the state asked the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, but the court deviated from this.

In his guilty plea, Maritz told the court that he and the deceased were in a relationship for 27 years and had two daughters, Celine and Octavia.

The relationship was plagued by domestic violence and the deceased sought a protection order against the accused, which was finalised in April 2022.

They split up and were involved with different partners but were staying together in Nekkies, Knysna.

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, the 50-year-old accused had visited a friend, and they consumed alcohol.

He came back in the evening and found the deceased and Celine sitting on a bed. He told them that he wanted to sleep and instructed the deceased to sleep in the other room with the children.

The deceased refused and he pushed her off the bed. The deceased called Celine and told her that the accused had hit her. The daughter came in and started to fight with the accused, who was busy washing himself.

Victim stabbed in the neck

The fight was stopped, and the accused took a large knife from the kitchen, intending to stab Celine.

Celine’s mother intervened and the accused stabbed her in the neck.

He claimed the sequence of events happened quickly. He said he was angry, but that assaulting his daughter and the deceased was not justified.

He could not describe what happened and said he wished he could turn back time, and it was not his intention to do what he did. He said he regrets what he did every day.

A probation officer’s report produced for the court stated that he is a risk to society. The report further stated that he contravened a protection order knowing that he was not supposed to assault the deceased, and that he admitted he wanted to stab his daughter but stabbed her mother.

Previous convictions

On his previous convictions, the report stated that the accused had a short temper and was prone to committing violent acts. It was not justifiable to use the weapon he used against a vulnerable person due to her gender.

The accused’s daughters and the report recommended direct imprisonment. Arguing for the prescribed minimum sentence, state prosecutor Candice Simon said the two daughters had lost both parents due to the accused’s actions. He had planned to stab his daughter when her mother intervened.

The court agreed to direct imprisonment but deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence because the accused pleaded guilty, and he had ended his relationship with his children forever.

The court emphasised that it had to take mercy into account when sentencing the accused. He had a four-year-old child with his new girlfriend.

The report speaks of a 10-year-long history of domestic violence, and the accused not having a relationship with his daughters as they wanted nothing to do with him.

Western Cape director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Nicolette Bell, expressed shock at the level of gender-based violence and femicide occurring despite concerted efforts to reduce this blight on society.

“It can never be over-emphasised how important human life is and therefore we will be vigorous in our pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,” she said.