A teenager who was part of a group of pupils who callously shot dead a woman in Port Elizabeth in September 2016 painted a chilling picture in court of his need to impress his friends when he committed the murder.
It was this that led former Westview Secondary School pupil Esonasipho Mrasi‚ 18‚ to take his father’s gun to school – resulting in the death of Magda van Vuuren in Adcockvale.
Mrasi – who confessed in April to pulling the trigger – testified in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday against three of his former classmates‚ who have all pleaded not guilty to the murder and robbery charges.
Van Vuuren‚ 53‚ was shot dead outside her mother’s Diaz Road home after a scuffle with Mrasi‚ who – dressed in his school uniform and wielding a semi-automatic pistol – was trying to steal her car.
Mrasi was sentenced in October to 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances‚ 15 years for murder and 10 years for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition‚ as well as a R600 fine‚ or three months in prison‚ for driving without a licence and a R3‚000 fine‚ or six months in prison‚ for theft.
Mrasi told the court on Wednesday: “They did not believe I could bring a firearm. On [a] Friday after school‚ we spoke about committing a robbery and hijacking a gold BMW parked at this house.
“We asked each other where to find a gun. I said I would bring the firearm.”
Skipping school‚ the pupils caught a bus to the Greenacres Shopping Centre‚ where they took pictures of each other holding the gun.
The trial continues.
School pupil shot woman to 'impress' his friends in Port Elizabeth
Image: Getty Images
A teenager who was part of a group of pupils who callously shot dead a woman in Port Elizabeth in September 2016 painted a chilling picture in court of his need to impress his friends when he committed the murder.
It was this that led former Westview Secondary School pupil Esonasipho Mrasi‚ 18‚ to take his father’s gun to school – resulting in the death of Magda van Vuuren in Adcockvale.
Mrasi – who confessed in April to pulling the trigger – testified in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday against three of his former classmates‚ who have all pleaded not guilty to the murder and robbery charges.
Van Vuuren‚ 53‚ was shot dead outside her mother’s Diaz Road home after a scuffle with Mrasi‚ who – dressed in his school uniform and wielding a semi-automatic pistol – was trying to steal her car.
Mrasi was sentenced in October to 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances‚ 15 years for murder and 10 years for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition‚ as well as a R600 fine‚ or three months in prison‚ for driving without a licence and a R3‚000 fine‚ or six months in prison‚ for theft.
Mrasi told the court on Wednesday: “They did not believe I could bring a firearm. On [a] Friday after school‚ we spoke about committing a robbery and hijacking a gold BMW parked at this house.
“We asked each other where to find a gun. I said I would bring the firearm.”
Skipping school‚ the pupils caught a bus to the Greenacres Shopping Centre‚ where they took pictures of each other holding the gun.
The trial continues.
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