A man was sentenced to eight years in prison for strangling and shooting his father’s girlfriend on their farm in Prieska, Northern Cape, South Africa.
On Friday, October 13, 2023, the Kimberley High Court sentenced and convicted Frans Cornelius Vermeulen, 25, to 12 years in prison for the murder of Sharifa Brown, 27, with four years suspended for five years.
Vermeulen, then 17, was involved in an altercation with his father’s girlfriend, Sharifa Brown, 27, at the time of the incident.
“Vermeulen strangled Brown and shot her four times with a.22 rifle, and she died on the scene,” police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Kock, said.
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“The incident occurred on May 21, 2016, at around 9 p.m. and Vermeulen was arrested on the same day and later received bail,” Kock said.
The 25-year-old man was found guilty in the Kimberley High Court and given a 12-year sentence for the murder on October 12, 2023, of which four years are suspended for five years, according to Kock’s additional statement.
Major General Nomana Mtukushe, meanwhile, praised Warrant Officer Marshal Bosman and all Prieska SAPS detectives who assisted with the investigations that resulted in this sentence.
“Gender-based violence and Femicide (GBVF) cannot be tolerated and perpetrators thereof must be brought to justice,” Mtukushe said.
