Toddler slept through horror: Abusive partner gets 20 years for murder

The family of Marilyn Nero from Warrenton, who died after she was brutally assaulted, have welcomed the 20-year sentence that was handed down to her partner in the Northern Cape High Court this week.

The couple’s toddler was asleep on the bed where Nero’s naked body was found, covered in bruises and abrasions, in February 2024. She died after sustaining multiple blunt force injuries to her head and body.  

Bereaved relatives believed that the deceased had tolerated the abuse that was meted out to her because she loved the accused. 

“She leaves behind four young children who have to grow up without their mother,” they stated. 

The accused Butiki Maitshobogo was sentenced in the Northern Cape High Court this week. He was convicted of murder despite a bag of evidence that went missing from the forensic laboratory in Pretoria. A sergeant at Hartswater police station admitted that he had omitted to take a DNA sample from a blood-stained stone that was found on the scene. 

Acting Northern Cape High Court Judge Stephen Groenewaldt noted that Maitshobogo’s only previous brush with the law was an admission of guilt fine of R100 that he paid for being in possession of dagga in 2008. 

“It is unfortunate that the deceased was a victim of gender based violence and femicide. She sustained multiple injuries where excessive force was used. While the minimum sentence is life imprisonment, the accused does have the potential to be rehabilitated.”  

He believed that the murder happened “on the spur of the moment” and was not premeditated.

“Alcohol consumption played a role in the commission of the offence.” 

Groenewaldt observed that the accused failed to show remorse for his actions for a serious crime.  

He noted that the deceased’s children and family were still struggling to come to terms with her death.

“The youngest child recollects the traumatic memory of how the deceased was loaded into the police van every time a SAPS vehicle passed by. While every child has a right to a family and to be appropriately cared for, the deceased’s children have been removed from their home environment and are residing with their relatives. 

Groenewaldt advised the family to lay any objections with the parole board if they disagreed with him being considered to be eligible for parole.