71-Year-Old Woman Sentenced To 20 Years For Premeditated Murder Of Her Three Great-Grandchildren In South Africa

Susana “Sarie” De Villiers, 71, was found guilty of the murders of her great-grandchildren, eight-year-old Caleb, five-year-old Gradwell, and two-year-old Joshua Booysen on November 20, 2021.

The court heard that De Villiers asked the children to bid their great-grandfather farewell and told them no one would ever hurt them again before deliberately driving them over the Bainskloof Pass.

De Villiers initially pleaded guilty but claimed diminished responsibility, which the State prosecutor declined to accept. She was then referred to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for a 30-day mental observation. In a report compiled in June 2024, the psychiatric panel found that she was mentally fit and capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of her actions.

Evidence revealed that the children had previously been removed from their parents due to neglect and substance abuse. About a week before the incident, the children’s mother and her partner were arrested on charges relating to child neglect.

The court heard that De Villiers collected the children for the day while their caregiver attended a wedding. The children spent the day swimming and playing at her home. Between approximately 4:30pm and 5pm, she placed them in her vehicle, ostensibly to return them to their caregiver.

The children cried and begged to remain with her. She told them to say goodbye to their great-grandfather and assured them that no one would hurt them again.

Prosecutor Cornelius Prinsloo submitted that De Villiers drove in the opposite direction of the children’s home and travelled approximately 23 kilometres to Bainskloof Pass. Upon reaching the summit, she drove through a gap in the barriers, causing the vehicle to plunge down the mountainside before coming to rest in a riverbed below.

De Villiers was wearing a seatbelt, while the children were unrestrained. All three children died from multiple blunt force injuries. De Villiers survived the crash.

The court sentenced De Villiers to 20 years direct imprisonment on each count of murder but ordered that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in an effective 20 years imprisonment.