Life sentence plus 15 years for child murderer

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Photo: SAPS

Joseph Phage whom, after being apprehended by the police added more criminal acts of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend’s daughter by strangulation.

NPA Spokesperson Henry Mamomthame said that they Court heard that it was on June 9, 2020 when Phage made his way the ex-girlfriend, Betty Sithole’s house where he found her knitting the daughter’s hair.

He then told Sithole to take the daughter to his grandmother’s house where he was also staying with her, but Sithole refused.

“At that time, the two were no longer staying together, as their relationship experiencing some challenges. Instead of taking the child, Phage started crying and begging Betty to forgive him and allow their love affair to continue.”

“Betty then refused the proposition, and Phage took out a knife and stabbed her while she was carrying their child. Betty’s sister came through and tried to intervene but was also stabbed and hit with a hammer on her shoulder.”

“He subsequently pursued Betty, who was trying to flee and stabbed her multiple times on her waist and below her armpit, then ran away from the scene.”

Mamomthame added that Sithole was only arrested a year later on August 9, 2021 with a Court date being set for November 4th. After trying and failing to persuade Sithole to drop the charges, he then escaped from the Court precinct and went into hiding until he was rearrested three days later.

He was arrested following a missing persons case that was filed of Sithole’s 10 years daughter. Investigations led the police to Sithole’s shack in Sonderwater informal settlement, at Ikageng near Potchefstroom where a partly decomposed body of Kamogelo Sithole was found hidden under the bed.

Post-mortem results revealed that the child died of ligature strangulation. In his plea, he admitted to strangling the child with a cable until she died.

Phage was found guilty of murder, following his submission of a plea statement in court. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for attempted murder and 5 years for kidnapping. The sentence will run concurrently and was declared unfit to possess a firearm. The application for leave to appeal against the sentence was also refused.