Ashanti's cousin killer pleads guilty
16 September 2008, 08:41
By Alex Eliseev
More than two years after a horror car crash, the teenager who killed R&B star Ashanti's 20-year-old cousin has pleaded guilty.
Kershan Naidoo - 17 at the time - has also pleaded guilty to killing a 26-year-old man in the same accident, driving without a licence, being drunk, and trying to run away from police.
Naidoo was on Monday convicted on all four counts.
He also would have been sentenced, if his lawyer had done enough preparation to argue for a more lenient sentence.
In the Wynberg magistrate's court, Renier Boshoff ordered the lawyer to go and "do your homework". This includes lining up witnesses to testify on Naidoo's behalf.
The thin teenager stepped into the dock with his mother - as always - sitting in the gallery behind him. His hair was spiky, his voice deep.
Naidoo pleaded guilty to two counts of culpable homicide for the death of Quinshae Snead - on tour with her cousin in April 2006 - and Sydney Ugah, the driver caught up in the accident.
The teenager had taken his mother's car out that night and hit Snead's vehicle with such force that she was flung out of it as it rolled across oncoming traffic. Ugah lost control of his car and drove over her body.
Naidoo, in his plea, said he was on his way home and was intoxicated when - near the Northgate Coca-Cola Dome - he noticed a police vehicle flashing emergency lights.
"Due to my intoxication and being an unlicensed driver, I went into a state of panic whereby I drove off in a drunken stupor believing that I could run away from trouble."
But in his own words, that was his "downfall" as the "high-speed chase" led to his crashing into Snead's car.
In a bid for a lighter sentence, it was argued that Naidoo had gone for counselling and attended a programme for alcoholics. He was young, had no previous convictions and was still traumatised by his actions.
After the crash, he left school and was "stigmatised as a killer", his lawyer said.
But magistrate Boshoff was not satisfied. He asked for witnesses to be brought to court to testify about Naidoo's treatment and for a correctional services officer to give evidence on sentencing options.
"I want to be convinced. Go and do your homework," he told the lawyer.
The trial resumes soon.
More than two years after a horror car crash, the teenager who killed R&B star Ashanti's 20-year-old cousin has pleaded guilty.
Kershan Naidoo - 17 at the time - has also pleaded guilty to killing a 26-year-old man in the same accident, driving without a licence, being drunk, and trying to run away from police.
Naidoo was on Monday convicted on all four counts.
He also would have been sentenced, if his lawyer had done enough preparation to argue for a more lenient sentence.
In the Wynberg magistrate's court, Renier Boshoff ordered the lawyer to go and "do your homework". This includes lining up witnesses to testify on Naidoo's behalf.
The thin teenager stepped into the dock with his mother - as always - sitting in the gallery behind him. His hair was spiky, his voice deep.
Naidoo pleaded guilty to two counts of culpable homicide for the death of Quinshae Snead - on tour with her cousin in April 2006 - and Sydney Ugah, the driver caught up in the accident.
The teenager had taken his mother's car out that night and hit Snead's vehicle with such force that she was flung out of it as it rolled across oncoming traffic. Ugah lost control of his car and drove over her body.
Naidoo, in his plea, said he was on his way home and was intoxicated when - near the Northgate Coca-Cola Dome - he noticed a police vehicle flashing emergency lights.
"Due to my intoxication and being an unlicensed driver, I went into a state of panic whereby I drove off in a drunken stupor believing that I could run away from trouble."
But in his own words, that was his "downfall" as the "high-speed chase" led to his crashing into Snead's car.
In a bid for a lighter sentence, it was argued that Naidoo had gone for counselling and attended a programme for alcoholics. He was young, had no previous convictions and was still traumatised by his actions.
After the crash, he left school and was "stigmatised as a killer", his lawyer said.
But magistrate Boshoff was not satisfied. He asked for witnesses to be brought to court to testify about Naidoo's treatment and for a correctional services officer to give evidence on sentencing options.
"I want to be convinced. Go and do your homework," he told the lawyer.
The trial resumes soon.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on September 16, 2008
Pretoria
