A 22-year-old South African woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering and dismembering a Monifieth grandmother.
Sandra Malcolm, 74, was butchered by Sheree Prince after the crystal meth addict broke into her Cape Town home in April 2015.
Prince attacked and murdered Mrs Malcolm as the former Monifieth woman attempted to treat her for an injury to her foot.
Prince wrote a letter of apology to Mrs Malcolm’s family but was sentenced to life imprisonment when she appeared at Western Cape High Court on Friday.
The life sentence means she will have to spend at least 25 years in prison before she is even eligible for parole.
She was also given two three-year terms for breaking into homes.
The court further declared that Prince is not fit to possess a firearm.
Eric Ntabazalila, spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority, said: “We welcome the sentence. We argued this was a premeditated murder and we showed that she intended to kill the lady.
“It was a very brutal and vicious murder and we are happy that we managed to get a sentence that talks to that.”
Mrs Malcolm’s body was discovered by her grandson, Scott Malcolm, in her home at Marina Da Gama, Cape Town.
A psychological report on Prince revealed she was a heavy crystal methamphetamine user.
After breaking into Mrs Malcolm’s home, she begged the 74-year-old not to call the police.
Mrs Malcolm gave her tea and toast and treated her injured foot. When she said she would call an ambulance, Prince stabbed her repeatedly before decapitating her.
The report stated that Prince “displayed conduct problems from an early age that included truancy, running away from home, destructive and aggressive behaviour, alcohol, tik (crystal meth) and dagga (marijuana) misuse.”
Prince left school when she was 17 and was said to have IQ of between 70 and 85.
Prince’s teachers complained of poor progress and behaviour and she left school in Grade 10 when she was 17.
She also “impressed as being of borderline intelligence (IQ: 70-85),” according to the report.
