20 YEARS DIRECT IMPRISONMENT FOR BEATING GIRLFRIEND TO DEATH
Philip Van Rooy(29) has been sentenced to 20 years of direct imprisonment by the Philipstown Regional Court after he was found guilty of murder by the court. He is accused of having beaten his girlfriend Rozean Wilson (35) to death. On 05 October 2023, at about 19:00, the accused began to assault his girlfriend by beating her with his fists, also kicked her severely, and used sjambok to beat her. The police were alerted, and the accused were arrested. Due to the severity of the assaults that resulted in the victim being hospitalized, the accused was charged with Attempted Murder of the victim and was released on bail. The victim was later transferred from the De Aar Hospital to the hospital in Kimberley due to the injuries she had sustained and, unfortunately, she passed on while in hospital. The charge was changed from Attempted Murder to that of murder.
The Regional Court Prosecutor, Advocate Corrie Jonker argued that the court should be firm when sentencing the accused, to caution other killers and abusers of women. That femicides were prevalent and a clear message needed to be ventilated to the communities, that the courts were serious about fighting the scourge of GBVF within the communities. After the matter, the accused was convicted of murder, and he was 20 years of direct imprisonment by the court. The court also declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm.
The National Prosecuting Authority can never over-emphasize how important human life is and therefore, will be vigorous in its pursuit of these violent cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers”.
