Plea about-turn in Chelsea rape, murder trial
3 February 2010, 10:13
By Karen Breytenbach
Justice Writer
The man accused of raping and murdering five-year-old Chelsea Jacobs of Delft made an about-turn on his first appearance in the Cape High Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.
The court heard during a pre-trial conference in December that Marshal "Boytjie" Gesels wanted to plead guilty.
Gesels appeared before Acting Judge Taki Madima on charges of abduction, murder and rape.
Chelsea was raped and bludgeoned with a brick in a field near her mother's home in Selati Street, Delft, on July 29, 2008.
She was found alive and unconscious, but died soon after she was rushed to Red Cross Children's Hospital.
Her grandmother, Brenda Pase, who was the first witness, said she sent Chelsea to the shop next door to buy sugar, but when she did not return after 10 minutes she became worried.
Pase fetched Chelsea's mother, Lizania Jacobs, from the Wendy house where she stayed in the backyard and together they went looking for the girl.
Jacobs and her boyfriend called the police while Pase went on searching with neighbours. Gesels also joined the search.
Pase said she heard a scream and saw the police standing in a nearby field, where a passerby had discovered Chelsea lying on the ground.
Pase accompanied Chelsea in the ambulance, and when her heart stopped en route to the hospital, Pase helped revive her. At the hospital the family waited in the trauma room but doctors brought the bad news that Chelsea had died of her injuries.
Testifying next, Jacobs said her boyfriend Graham told her he saw blood on Gesels' pants shortly after Chelsea went missing. Her boyfriend lived with Gesels a few blocks away in Mangoro Crescent.
"I told him he had to tell the police," she said.
Jacobs also remembered that while looking for Chelsea, she saw Gesels emerge from a pathway from Caledon Street, which led to the field where Chelsea was later found.
A policeman questioned Gesels and he was arrested the next day.
Jacobs said her daughter died a month before her sixth birthday. On the day of the attack, she wore pink tights, a pink and brown T-shirt and a pink jacket with a furry collar. She loved walking around with her hands tucked in the pockets.
An inspection of the murder scene will be held on Wednesday.
karen.breytenbach@inl.co.za
Justice Writer
The man accused of raping and murdering five-year-old Chelsea Jacobs of Delft made an about-turn on his first appearance in the Cape High Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.
The court heard during a pre-trial conference in December that Marshal "Boytjie" Gesels wanted to plead guilty.
Gesels appeared before Acting Judge Taki Madima on charges of abduction, murder and rape.
Chelsea was raped and bludgeoned with a brick in a field near her mother's home in Selati Street, Delft, on July 29, 2008.
She was found alive and unconscious, but died soon after she was rushed to Red Cross Children's Hospital.
Her grandmother, Brenda Pase, who was the first witness, said she sent Chelsea to the shop next door to buy sugar, but when she did not return after 10 minutes she became worried.
Pase fetched Chelsea's mother, Lizania Jacobs, from the Wendy house where she stayed in the backyard and together they went looking for the girl.
Jacobs and her boyfriend called the police while Pase went on searching with neighbours. Gesels also joined the search.
Pase said she heard a scream and saw the police standing in a nearby field, where a passerby had discovered Chelsea lying on the ground.
Pase accompanied Chelsea in the ambulance, and when her heart stopped en route to the hospital, Pase helped revive her. At the hospital the family waited in the trauma room but doctors brought the bad news that Chelsea had died of her injuries.
Testifying next, Jacobs said her boyfriend Graham told her he saw blood on Gesels' pants shortly after Chelsea went missing. Her boyfriend lived with Gesels a few blocks away in Mangoro Crescent.
"I told him he had to tell the police," she said.
Jacobs also remembered that while looking for Chelsea, she saw Gesels emerge from a pathway from Caledon Street, which led to the field where Chelsea was later found.
A policeman questioned Gesels and he was arrested the next day.
Jacobs said her daughter died a month before her sixth birthday. On the day of the attack, she wore pink tights, a pink and brown T-shirt and a pink jacket with a furry collar. She loved walking around with her hands tucked in the pockets.
An inspection of the murder scene will be held on Wednesday.
karen.breytenbach@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Cape Times on February 03, 2010
Pretoria
