FORMER police officer Marius van der Westhuizen was found guilty in the Cape High Court of the murders of his three children.
FORMER police officer Marius van der Westhuizen was found guilty in the Cape High Court of the murders of his three children.
In a judgment that began on Wednesday, and finally ended at 12,30pm yesterday, Judge Willem Louw ruled that Van der Westhuizen had suffered a diminished ability to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the incident.
The judge said Van der Westhuizen's incapacity did not have any bearing on the merits of the case but would influence the sentence to be imposed.
The judge also ruled that the triple murder was not premeditated, which meant that the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment was not applicable.
The case has been postponed to August 3 for defence attorney Milton de la Harpe to obtain a correctional supervision report for the purpose of considering sentence options. - Sapa