“My mother would not have been able to live with the knowledge that she was violently raped…’ said her son Danie Maree, (below):
PRETORIA HIGH COURT. "The spirit of the devil came over him’ - and made him assault and rape the friendly 83-year-old Afrikaner woman into a coma in 2007, a black Tembisa man told the Pretoria High Court on Friday April 1 2011. Collen Monareng, 37, begged the woman’s son Danie Maree for forgiveness – but Maree was not interested: “he must first forgive himself. My mother would not have hurt a fly. She gave a lot to others and if he just asked her for money, she would have given it to him if she had it.”
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Collen Monareng, 37, admitted that he had beaten and raped the frail, geriatric Afrikaner woman Ines Christina Maree so badly in her Lyttelton home that she died two months later in comatose condition in hospital. Her life was worth a bottle of sparkling wine, a kettle and an iron – the only items Monareng stole after he broke into her home, attacked and raped her. Her killer himself stood in court, describing her as "a friendly old woman who greeted him and his fellow job seekers while they stood outside her home nearly daily for about two years"…
Black Africans often believe they are possessed by witches, demons and devils when carrying out criminal acts – often visiting witchdoctors for potions to drive these away...
Monareng said "she even fed his friends when they asked her for food." Apart from saying the “spirit of the devil” came over him, Monareng said he had no idea why he assaulted and raped her.
Judge Vivian Tlhapi convicted him of the murder, rape and housebreaking after Monareng admitted to these crimes. He burst into tears as he pleaded with the judge to have mercy on him. “I want to be able to walk out of jail and live a truthful life,” he said.
The unconscious Mrs Maree was discovered by son Danie, a day after she was attacked and left for dead. Her blood-covered face was so badly bruised that he could not recognise her. Speaking to the Pretoria News outside court, Maree said he and his sister had wanted her to move, but she chose to stay on in her house. “We decided not to push her into moving. It was obviously the wrong decision. But she had been living there for more than 40 years and there was never a day’s trouble before this incident.” He made the gruesome discovery on the Sunday afternoon when he took his mother some groceries. “At first I thought she was not home, but then I saw the window was open and I suspected something was wrong. I climbed through the window and I discovered her on the floor in the lounge.
“When I looked at her I did not recognise her. I felt a bit better as she did not look like my mother.” Maree said he was actually relieved when she died two months later, as she would never have recovered from her brain injuries.“She would also not have been able to live with the knowledge that she was violently raped.”
Monareng explained that he went drinking at a tavern close to Maree’s home. When he left, he was quite drunk and decided to break into her home, as he wanted money. He knew she lived alone, as he had seen her leaving her house many times. When the widow told him she had no money, he attacked her, because “the devil told me to”. Monareng described Maree as a friendly person, who was old enough to be his grandmother.
The State prompted him for answers, saying that the court, the community and Maree’s family wanted to know why he did this. Monareng replied simply: “I don’t have answers.” He claimed he never intended to commit murder and rape and blamed his ‘use of alcohol ‘for his gruesome deeds. Sobbing, he said he had remorse for what he had done. “I would like to ask her family and this court for forgiveness for the hurt I caused,” he said.
Danie Maree said he was not interested in these
pleas for forgiveness. “He must first forgive himself. My mother would not have hurt a fly. She gave a lot to others and if he just asked her for money, she would have given it to him if she had it.”The trial was postponed to May 4 for arguments before sentencing. - Pretoria News
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/devil-made-man-beat-up-woman-1.1050988
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