Accused child killer Daniel Smit is expected to appear in the Klawer Magistrate’s Court on Thursday following a 30-day psychiatric evaluation at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital.
The matter was rolled over on Wednesday for him to appear in person on Thursday, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
Smit, 58, is accused of kidnapping and killing 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk for allegedly stealing fruits at his home. He also faces charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
Smit was admitted to the psychiatric facility last month following a number of delays as he had been placed on a waiting list to be admitted for the 30-day evaluation to assess whether the alleged cultist is able to follow court proceedings.
Elaborating on why Smit was booked for an observation, Ntabazalila said the State or the defence can place evidence on record indicating that any accused, due to mental illness or intellectual disability, is not capable of understanding the proceedings so as to make a proper defence.
“The court can be faced with two scenarios: When the accused is before court, can they follow proceedings and take part? The ‘now’ question (in court) and were they, at the time of the incident or commission of the defence, capable of distinguishing between right and wrong and act accordingly? The ‘then’ question (at the time of the incident). When either of these questions is raised and the court is satisfied that the accused falls in one and/or both of the categories, the court is obliged to refer the accused for observation at a designated health establishment,” said Ntabazalila.
The court will then direct, depending on the seriousness of the crime, whether an inquiry needs to be done by a single psychiatrist or a panel of specialists.
“(When booked in for the evaluation) a full medical examination is done, and specialists in the field of psychiatry, clinical psychology, occupational therapy and social sciences are involved. An observation may not be longer than 30 days,” said Ntabazalila.
Jerobejin’s remains were found in a septic tank on Smit’s property and were identified through DNA testing after the boy went missing on February 2 last year. Jerobejin’s body was found after days of community searches on February 16 that year.
Last year, through a confession to his lawyer, Smit admitted that he had killed the boy.
Smit proffered in his confession that he did so because he was “sick and tired of theft, beggars and disrespect in his community”.
Cape Times