Following the guilty verdicts handed down to Boland serial killer Johan Williams, the mother of one of his three murder victims said she was overcome with mixed emotions as the wheels of justice turned.
Williams was found guilty of 19 of the 20 charges he faced in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, including the murder and kidnapping of three women.
Carol Petersen, the mother of slain Chantell Matthysen, said she felt an overwhelming sense of relief while seated in court and the verdict for each count was read out by Judge Rosheni Allie.
During the trial, the court heard that Matthysen, Natalie Jonkers and Maria Isaacs were each lured by Williams under false pretences before he murdered them and buried their bodies on farms in the Boland.
“It felt like I could shout in that courtroom but I had to keep my composure. But inside I was elated, hearing her call out each guilty verdict.
“We are so grateful that the verdict came to what it did this week.
“This case has been going on for nearly six years and we can now look forward to the sentencing.
“As a mother, I knew that my daughter would never have consented to sexual relations with Williams as they tried to argue in court.
“The faces of Maria’s family lit up when they heard the convictions as well. It is a great sense of relief that all is coming to an end soon despite all Williams’ attempts to stall throughout the trial,” said Petersen.
The rape charge Williams had faced for that of Isaacs was discharged on February 13, due to her body having already been at an advanced stage of decomposition when her skeletal remains were found on a Boland farm in 2018 after her disappearance in 2012.
Judge Allie said that Williams, who elected to not testify and not to call any witnesses, had not taken the court into his confidence to provide evidence and challenging the State’s.
“In fact, the decision of the accused to not testify impedes the closure required by the victims and their family in coming to terms with the brutal and violent crimes perpetrated on them or their loved ones.”
Judge Allie further said that Williams’ section 220 admissions and his pointing out the burial sites of his three murder victims provided “proof beyond reasonable doubt that (Williams) perpetrated the counts that he is guilty of”.
The matter was postponed to March 4 for sentencing proceedings.
Cape Times