Drug-addicted mother who killed son and went to church gets 20 years

Content warning: This article contains graphic details of child murder, drug use and domestic abuse, which some readers may find disturbing.

A mother who killed her son after claiming she saw his father’s face while washing him, and then went to church, has been sentenced to 20 years by the Oudtshoorn Regional Court.

Drug addict Drezene Jonkerman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for strangling her seven-year-old son Ashwin Jonkerman after a drug binge on her birthday in August 2024.

On 11 August 2024, the mother of two other minor children was at home with her son at Korhaan Avenue, Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, preparing to go to church.

Mother used drugs before preparing for church

The 39-year-old woman received a visit from a friend, and the two used drugs. After the friend left, the mother finished preparing for church and woke Ashwin.

Jonkerman claimed that she and Ashwin’s father had a bad relationship, and while she was bathing the boy, she saw his father’s face.

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Eric Ntabazalila, the regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said that Jonkerman’s anger escalated when she imagined Ashwin’s father while bathing the boy.

“She started strangling him until his body became limp and carried him to the bedroom. She left his limp body in the bedroom and went to church,” Ntabazalila said.

Son’s limp body still on bed after church

The mother returned from church and found the boy’s limp body still lying on the bed. Afterwards, Jonkerman contacted a neighbour and called an ambulance. Paramedics later confirmed that the boy had died.

“She admitted that she did foresee that by strangling him, she could cause his death, and despite that knowledge, she still proceeded to strangle him,” Ntabazalila said.

“She further admitted that her intention was to kill him, and she had no lawful reason to kill him.”

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The mother argued, in her plea, that her relationship with Ashwin’s father was tumultuous with difficulties due to his drug use, as well as instances of assault and rape that she claimed occurred on multiple occasions. Jonkerman, however, did not report these incidents because she was financially dependent on him.

Regional court prosecutor Goulding Hyron refuted her claim by presenting evidence in which the deceased’s father denied the allegations. There is also no official case that Jonkerman has opened against her ex.

Boy’s father claims relationship ended because of mother’s drug use

“The ex-partner conceded that they used drugs, but her addiction worsened, and she started to sell groceries and the furniture of their house. He ended their relationship due to her drug use, and months later, he was informed that she had killed their child,” Ntabazalila said.

According to the NPA, Jonkerman’s boss and pastor asked her why she didn’t attend church a week before Ashwin’s murder.

She told her pastor she couldn’t attend church because drug lords had assaulted her over unpaid drug debts.

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Hyron argued that Ashwin’s murder deeply traumatised his father and siblings.

“The offence was heinous and uncalled-for, and the community is still in shock by the fact that a mother has killed her child in the manner that the accused did,” Ntabazalila said.

“The accused was a drug addict who used drugs that morning, killed her child, and went to church without getting any medical help for the deceased.”

20-year direct imprisonment

Oudtshoorn Regional Court sentenced Jonkerman to 25 years imprisonment with five years suspended for five years on condition that she is not convicted of murder during the period of suspension.

The court ordered the accused to serve two-thirds of her sentence before she is considered for release on parole. The court also declared her unfit to work with children after her release from prison and barred her from possessing a firearm.

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Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, expressed shock at the callous murder committed by a mother on her own child.

“She emphasised the importance of dealing with the scourge of drugs and that those who commit crimes against the most vulnerable in our society,” Ntabazalila said.