Bishop Lavis man sentenced for killing three of his family members

 

A young man from Bishop Lavis has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars at the Parow Regional Court after he pleaded guilty to killing his brother after the siblings had an argument over the deceased’s bad school results.

Cevyn Kemp, 20, also confessed to killing his mother after she came home from work and killing his aunt, who came looking for both deceased. The court convicted Kemp after he pleaded guilty to all three counts of murder.

‘’In his plea of guilty, he confesses that on 14 December 2022, at 18 Martin Lane, Bishop Lavis, he went to his brother’s room and confronted him about his bad school results, as he had heard that he failed his examinations. After he opened the door, he found his brother, Peter, smoking drugs, and during their argument, the deceased smacked him and started assaulting him. He picked up a brick, which the household used as a door stop, and started hitting the deceased with it on his head. He died because of the blunt force trauma to his head,’’ said Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Authority Western Cape spokesperson.

‘’His mother, Elmoline Kemp, arrived home from work and enquired about the whereabouts of his brother. He told her that his brother had left the house earlier and she became restless. She went to the deceased’s room and discovered his lifeless body lying on the bed. He claims that he panicked, picked up the brick in the room and started hitting his mother on the head with the same brick. Later, his aunt Shireen Isaacs arrived looking for his mother. He told her that both his mother and his brother had left and visited someone in the neighbourhood. The aunt left and returned shortly and told him that she could not find them anywhere. She went to search for the two in the house and he claims that after she found the deceased’s bodies, he panicked, picked up the same brick and started hitting her with it on her head,’’ he added.

PICTURE: Pixabay

The court heard that the day after the murders, the accused visited a friend’s house and informed her that something had happened to his family members. The friend and her father drove with him to his home, and they discovered the deceased’s bodies in the yard. Police arrested the accused and charged him with murder (domestic relationship)

The court heard from a psychologist who interviewed Kemp that he first told the psychologist that he saw someone dragging the bodies out the back door and he ran away through the front door. It came out during the interview that the front door had been locked and there was no way he would run out, lock the door behind him, and run away through the same door. He was asked if he wanted to stick to his story or wanted to tell the truth. He indicated that he wanted to tell the truth and confessed to what he did.

‘’Regional court prosecutor Earl Edward Koopman argued there were inconsistencies in the accused’s account of what had happened on the day. Koopman asked the court to impose life imprisonment, but the court found that there were substantial and compelling circumstances for it to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. This included that the accused wanted to plead guilty on his first day in court, he had expressed remorse, his age, and his personal circumstances,’’ said Ntabazalila.

The court sentenced him to 25 years' direct imprisonment for each count of murder and ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.

 

Done By: Mitchum George