On Friday, October 28, A high court in the Western Cape, South Africa, on Friday, October 28, convicted an abusive boyfriend, Phillip April, of the premeditated murder of his ex-girlfriend, Allison Plaatjies.
Allison Plaatjies, 26, suffered many stab wounds as a result of Philip’s attack in October 2019.
April was also found guilty of taking her car. He had earlier rejected the charge, stating she had given him permission to drive her automobile.
“This conviction follows the State failing to accept the accused’s guilty plea when he confessed to Plaatjies’ murder,” said Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
The accused said in his guilty plea that on October 26, 2019, Plaatjies arrived at his friend’s house, where they were watching rugby and drinking.
Plaatjies, he alleges, encouraged him to accompany her to her flat because she had brought him something to eat.
Plaatjies, April alleged, was not pleased with him consuming beer, and she told him she was going out with her friends.
When April asked Plaatjies why she had pulled him away from his buddies when she knew she would be going out with her friends, the two got into a quarrel.
When the disagreement heated up, April grabbed Plaatjies by the throat and choked her before going to the kitchen to get a knife and stabbing her. He retrieved another knife after the first one shattered and cut her throat.
April then removed his blood-stained tracksuit trousers and threw them in the shower. He left the apartment to sleep at his mother’s house.
The accused went on a drinking binge with a buddy two days after the murder, while driving the Plaatjies’ vehicle. On their route to Clanwilliam, the two stopped in Graafwater and Citrusdal, where he was arrested on October 28, 2019.
Rene Uys, the state’s attorney, declined the abusive boyfriend plea because she believed his story was not complete and there was insufficient evidence to prove it was not a premeditated murder.
“During the murder, Advocate Uys produced five witnesses who testified that the accused and the dead were no longer in a love connection,” Ntabazalila added.
The accused asked to meet the deceased on October 25, 2019, but she declined. He then came up at her workplace, Cederberg Primary School, giving her lunch and asking for her keys to her flat under the guise of wanting to do her laundry.”
Advocate Uys established, with the assistance of witnesses summoned by the State, that April and Plaatjies had an altercation outside a friend’s house and that they drove together to her, he beat her up while sitting on top of her in her flat, then went to grab a knife and stabbed her. He retrieved another knife after the first one shattered and cut her throat.
According to a pathologist, Dr Linda Liebenberg, who conducted the post-mortem of Plaatjies, the accused is said to have also bitten parts of her face.
“Dr Liebenberg also testified that the deceased had wounds on their face, her back, the back of her neck, and wounds on her hands indicating that she fought back. The accused never mentioned these injuries in his plea. The deceased was a victim of a brutal attack by the accused. The accused does not deny killing her but excludes the bulk of the pain he inflicted on her before her premature death,” said Ntabazalila.
It was revealed that April’s attack was unrelenting; he did not appear to have stopped to think about his actions.
“She was alive for the bulk of her injuries and fought hard to be alive. Her efforts were fruitless in the unrelenting attack by the accused. The level of anxiety she experienced before her death, according to Dr Liebenberg, was severe.”
Advocate Uys also proved that the accused stole the deceased’s vehicle.
Ntabazalila said: “The state submits that it is obvious that she could not consent to him using her vehicle after killing her.”
“He stole her car and used it the entire weekend. Even after being informed that the deceased was in an accident on 27 October 2019, he tried to convince his friends to drive to Cape Town in her car.”
The case has been postponed to December 1, 2022, for sentencing.
