One of the accused behind the slain Melanie Stoffels from Heideveld has been sentenced to 18-years direct imprisonment. Quinton Jacobs was sentenced in the Wynberg Regional Court, on Wednesday.
Stoffels was beaten to death with a hammer in August 2024
in what the State described as a planned and coordinated attack, allegedly
arranged and paid for by her ex-girlfriend. She was pregnant at the time and
her body was later discovered near a footbridge.
PICTURED (supplied) - Melanie StoffelsDuring the sentencing in the Wynberg Regional Court, the
prosecutor outlined how the murder was planned. Jacobs and the ex-girlfriend
allegedly met beforehand. Jacobs obtained a hammer from neighbours and waited
for Stoffels to return from work. He approached her under the pretence of
asking for R2. When she told him she did not have money, he struck her with the
hammer.
Jacobs surrendered himself to police and the ex-girlfriend
was subsequently arrested. The case against the ex-girlfriend remains ongoing.
The State acknowledged Jacobs’ guilty plea and noted that
he did not waste the court’s time. The prosecutor also emphasised that no
sentence could restore Melanie’s life or undo the harm caused to her family.
Civil organisation, Action Society welcomed the sentence.
‘’This sentence recognises the seriousness of this horrific
crime, but it does not close this chapter,” said Kaylynn Palm, Head of the
Action Society Action Centre in the Western Cape. “A young woman, who was
pregnant and full of life, was targeted and brutally murdered. Action Society
will continue to monitor the proceedings against the remaining accused to
ensure that justice is fully served and that accountability does not stop
halfway,’’ said Kaylynn Palm, Head of the Action Society Action Centre in the
Western Cape.
Done by: Mitchum George
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