Antoinette Maritz handed life sentence for partner's murder
Thirty-seven-year-old Antoinette Maritz has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of her partner, Wayne Henderson, after she stabbed him to death with her co-accused, Johan Pratt.
Maritz was sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment for attempted murder, 15 years direct imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and an additional five years for defeating the ends of justice.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday that it welcomed the sentence.
NPA spokesperson Tshegofatso Makhudu said the court ordered that the sentences on counts two, three and four run concurrently with the life sentence.
Pratt was sentenced to 30 years' direct imprisonment after he entered into a plea agreement with the state.
"He was convicted on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the ends of justice," said Makhudu.
Makhudu said in November 2023, Maritz called Pratt to come over to her place of residence, where she was living with Henderson and his mother.
At the time, Pratt was the ex-boyfriend of Maritz.
Maritz and Pratt later entered Henderson's room, where Pratt began to assault and stab him while he was sleeping.
"Thereafter, both Maritz and Pratt dragged the body of the deceased to another bedroom and hid themselves,” Makhudu said.
The following day, Maritz and Pratt emerged from the bedroom where they had been hiding, and upon entering the living room, Pratt assaulted the deceased's mother by hitting her with an ashtray on the head several times. She was tied up, and her belongings were stolen,
The duo then loaded Henderson's remains into his mother's vehicles and drove them to a veld in Standerton.
They dumped his body in the veld and went to Pratt's brother's home.
"In mitigation of sentence, Maritz, through her legal representative, urged the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, citing that she was a first-time offender, had nine children who were dependent on her, and had spent two years in custody awaiting the finalisation of the matter,” said Makhudu.
"In delivering judgment, Judge Samuel Makamu agreed with the State’s submissions, finding that Maritz had shown no genuine remorse and had attempted to manipulate emotions by displaying what the court described as insincere sympathy,” she added.
"Judge Makamo described the offences as ruthless and concluded that no substantial and compelling circumstances existed to justify a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentences."
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