Hopetown man awaits fate in murder, abuse of corpse case

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence, physical assault, and the sexual violation of a deceased person. It also includes testimony involving a minor. Reader discretion is advised.

JUDGMENT is expected to be handed down next month after an accused from Hopetown elected not to testify in the Northern Cape High Court this week. He is charged with the brutal assault and murder of his partner, as well as sexually violating her corpse.

The deceased’s eight-year-old son testified that he witnessed his stepfather, Salmon Kammies, repeatedly assaulting his mother with a steel wire and kicking her in the face while wearing work boots. The accused apparently poured a bucket of water over the deceased in an unsuccessful attempt to wake her.

The boy indicated that his mother had advised him to go to sleep while the assault was taking place.

Rigor mortis had already set in when the accused reported the incident, and blood was splattered on the walls.

The accused’s brother-in-law, Gert Williams, found the deceased dressed in her underwear on the bed in her house in Sonneblom Street, Hopetown, on May 2, 2024.

He told the court that the house was dark and that he had to use his cellphone light to navigate his way to the bedroom.

The deceased was covered with a duvet, although her breast was exposed.

Blunt force injuries, bruises, abrasions and lacerations

According to the post-mortem report, the deceased suffered acute blood loss due to blunt force trauma. There were multiple bruises, abrasions and lacerations all over her face and body, as well as excessive bleeding. Her right eye and kidneys were swollen.

Forensic pathologist Dr Lemaine Fouché indicated that the deceased had been sexually penetrated while dying or after her death, with injuries inflicted to her private parts in the absence of any vital signs.

State advocate Anel Stellenberg submitted that the accused may have sustained an injury to his penis because he had sexual intercourse with a corpse.

“Williams used to work in a mortuary and found the deceased to be cold upon his arrival at the house. The forensic pathologist related that rigor mortis usually develops after about eight hours,” said Stellenberg.

She indicated that the accused was eligible for a life sentence, as the murder was linked to intimate partner violence.

‘History of domestic violence’

Stellenberg added that the accused offered different versions of events.

“He claimed that the deceased tried to stab him with a knife and that he used a steel wire to defend himself. He also stated that they had a fight, where he told his sister that he was worried about the deceased as her breathing was shallow.

“The accused also said she had injured herself when she fell over a plastic basin after he pushed her during a fight. He also told the court that the deceased had gotten up during the night following the alleged assault and complained that her back was sore.”

She said a neighbour, Mildri Engelbrecht, testified that she heard the deceased screaming and saw the accused assaulting her with what appeared to be a broomstick before her death.

“The deceased was lying on the ground and screaming while the accused hit her three or four times while yelling, ‘You don’t want to listen’.”

Stellenberg rejected the accused’s explanation that the deceased had been throwing rocks at him.

She added that a wound the accused exhibited to police officers upon his arrest, on his forearm, was considered to be an old wound.

“The accused should be found guilty of murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and performing a sexual act with a corpse,” she argued.

Defence denies charges

The legal representative for Kammies, Advocate Hannes Rust, argued that it was improbable that his client could have sexually penetrated the deceased, as his genitals were injured.

“He was in pain and had to be hospitalised following his arrest. There was no DNA or semen that could link the accused to having caused the injuries,” said Rust.

He cautioned the court against placing too much weight on the testimony of the minor child.

Rust further argued that the neighbour would have intervened if the alleged broomstick assault had been serious.

Deputy Judge President Mmathebe Violet Phatsoane postponed the matter for judgment on March 10-12.