WC NPA welcomes nephew's 20-year prison sentence for killing Cape Town magistrate
20-yearCassidy Hartzenberg entered into a plea agreement with the state after confessing to the crime.
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CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) has welcomed the 20-year prison sentence handed down to a magistrate's nephew on Friday for strangling her to death.
20-year-old Cassidy Hartzenberg entered into a plea agreement with the state after confessing to the crime.
He admitted to killing his aunt, Magistrate Romay van Rooyen at her home in September 2022 after she refused to give him money.
In his confession, Hartzenberg claims that he visited his aunt on the day of her murder to ask for money for a job application.
After she refused he followed her to her bedroom where he put his hands around her neck and strangled her to death.
Hartzenberg also claims that he could not stop what he was doing and could not control his anger.
"The state asked the court to use its discretion and sentence Hartzenberg to more than the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years given the seriousness of the charges he faced," said Western Cape NPA Spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
Ntabazalila said Hartzenberg's argument that he was unemployed and spent several months in prison awaiting trial could not justify the minimum sentence.