Convicted Boland serial killer laughs in court as he fires lawyer, delaying sentencing
The convicted Boland serial killer who lured women to their death with the promise of a job, laughed hysterically in the Western Cape High Court as he fired his lawyer, delaying his sentencing proceedings by at least another month.
Convicted killer Johan Williams was found guilty on three counts of murder, six counts of kidnapping, six counts of rape, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, attempted rape, failure to comply with a protection order, housebreaking with the intent to commit arson, and arson.
He was convicted on February 20.
During his court appearance on Monday, Williams did another U-turn and fired his attorney, Jacques Du Preez, causing a further delay for the victims families to find peace.
William sacking his attorney has stalled sentencing at the moment.
Due to this, Williams now has to get a new Legal Aid lawyer on record before being sentenced.
Since the start of this trial, Williams has fired several Legal Aid lawyers.
Speaking to IOL, Williams’ last victim, Chantell Matthysen’s mother, Carol Petersen was left bewildered by his latest tactic.
“I am angry. Again he is just taunting us. I took this weekend to mentally take time out and ready myself because this was a chapter we were supposed to close and get justice,” she said.
Williams also seemed chuffed with himself as proceedings were postponed.
“The way he laughed when the judge left the court made me angry. It was as if to say: ‘I win again’,” Petersen said.
The matter has been postponed until April 15 for a new lawyer to come on record.
In convicting Williams, the court found he kidnapped and murdered Natalie Jonkers, 35, on July 16, 2012, after helping her to get a loan.
She was buried on Helpmekaar Farm from 2012 until her skeletal remains were exhumed in 2018.
He was also accused of raping and murdering Maria Isaacs, 33, of Malmesbury, who went to Wellington in June 2018 after he promised her a job. The court found him guilty of murder and kidnapping.
During Isaacs’ disappearance, Mathyssen, 21, from Kuilsriver also went missing after meeting Williams, who had promised her a job in Wellington. The court found him guilty of kidnapping, rape and murder.
The bodies of Isaacs and Matthyssen were found on the same day in July 2018.
The bodies of the women were found in shallow graves on Aubon Rue Farm in the Boland area.
Cops arrested him at Ongegund Farm after a tip-off.
Before his arrest, Williams stabbed and raped his ex-girlfriend multiple times at knifepoint.
As the trial progressed, forensic evidence submitted to the court detailed that all three women had sustained strangulation ligature marks when they were found.
Williams was also found in possession of the victims’ belongings.
In her judgment, Judge Rosheni Allie highlighted the killing pattern that seemed to emerge when Williams perpetrated the horrendous crimes.
In her testimony, forensic pathologist, Dr Denise Lourens found the women were all found tied up. They had a sock, scarf, or shoelaces tied around their necks, in a double or triple knot.
She testified that sticks were kept in the knots, so the person who had tied the victims could tighten the knots. Ligature marks were also found around the necks of the women which was an indication of strangulation.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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