Grisly details of how an elderly Walmer man was stabbed multiple times by a woman who had allegedly been hired to massage him emerged in the Gqeberha high court on Wednesday when Asheeka Abrahams pleaded guilty to murdering Richard Adams.
Abrahams, 32, and her co-accused, Kristen Goeda, 40, were arrested on June 12 2021 after they were found inside 87-year-old Adams’s home in First Avenue, Walmer.
His body was found covered in a blanket in a spare room.
The state did not believe Abrahams’s story and her guilty plea was rejected by the court.
In her plea, read out by defence advocate Hannelie Bakker, Abrahams claimed she had been asked by a friend, identified only as Caitlin, to fill in for her as a masseuse for Adams.
Abrahams, who advertised her services online, said she only performed massages, and never any sexual services. She charged R1,500 for a two-hour session.
Abrahams, who pleaded guilty to murder and robbery, and not guilty to a charge of rape and an alternative charge of performing a sex act on a corpse, said she arrived at Adams’s home on June 10 2021 at about 8pm and starting massaging him.
Abrahams said Adams told her Caitlin had performed sexual acts on him after a massage, which she said she did not do.
“I made it clear I do not use sex toys and that I don’t provide sexual relief for my clients,” Abrahams said.
The following day Abrahams returned to Adams’s home for another massage session.
This time Abrahams claimed she and Adams drank sparkling wine as she massaged him on his bed.
At some stage Adams allegedly asked Abrahams if he could massage her and she agreed.
After taking off her dress, Abrahams lay on the bed while Adams began massaging her, Bakker told the court.
“During the massage the conversation was flowing, the music was playing, and we continued drinking,” Abrahams said.
“All of a sudden I felt him moving on to my back and he thrust his erection against me.”
At that stage, Abrahams claimed she jumped off the bed and they both ended up on the floor before she got up and put her clothes back on.
Adams then apologised.
Abrahams continued to massage Adams. He said he needed the toilet and she started packing up her oils.
She claimed when Adams returned he grabbed her by her hair from behind and demanded she give him sexual pleasure.
An argument ensued, Abrahams ran to the kitchen, and Adams followed her.
According to her, Adams pointed a rifle at her and she grabbed a kitchen knife.
The pair tussled all the way back to the bedroom.
Once there, Abrahams said Adams grabbed her by the neck and began strangling her.
Armed with the kitchen knife, Abrahams said she stabbed Adams in the chest in an attempt to free herself but did not succeed.
“I started stabbing him again in the neck and chest and he eventually fell down on his back between the bed and dresser in the main bedroom.
“I then stabbed him until he stopped moving,” she said.
Following the stabbing, Abrahams said she called Goeda and then dragged Adams’s body to another bedroom, covered it with a blanket, and locked the door.
After Goeda arrived, the pair made their way to Central and purchased drugs and alcohol before returning to Adams’s home.
Abrahams said she realised they could not get back into the house and she called a locksmith to open the door for them.
Unable to pay the locksmith, Abrahams gave Adams’s cellphone as collateral.
The pair then stayed the night and consumed the drugs and alcohol before returning to Central the following day for more drugs.
Upon returning to Adams’s home to collect their bags, Abrahams said while inside the house they noticed a light shining through the letterbox on the front door.
The police eventually gained access and the pair were arrested.
After Abrahams’s plea was read into the record, the state indicated that it did not accept it, prompting the court to enter a not guilty plea on behalf of Abrahams on all counts.
Goeda, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to all the charges and did not offer a plea explanation.
The trial continues.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.