As convicted murderer Colin “Junior” Kannemeyer entered the courtroom, he blew kisses to his children sitting in the front row of the public gallery.
He took a seat in the dock, slumped his shoulders, and dropped his head, his whole body visibly shaking as he sobbed into his hands.
Moments later the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder of his estranged wife, Cheryl-Ann, a harrowing incident which took place two days after last Christmas.
Judge Ivana Bands convicted him accordingly and then sentenced him to 25 years' behind bars.
During the proceedings at the Gqeberha high court on Tuesday, defence advocate Johan van der Spuy read Kannemeyer’s plea into the record.
The 14-page plea gave a detailed account of how the couple’s relationship had deteriorated in the months leading up to the murder, and how financial instability had caused regular arguments between Kannemeyer and the 61-year-old estate agent.
Kannemeyer was a successful businessman with experience in the banking sector before managing a butchery and a liquor store.
At one stage he also derived income from the rental properties he owned.
He later managed a construction company and was contracted to the municipality for a period of three years.
However, his business took a knock during the Covid-19 pandemic and failed to recover.
This led him to assist his late wife in selling houses before also becoming an estate agent with the same firm.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, the couple attended a party where a friend started discussing property developments with him.
From this conversation he suspected that his wife had discussed their financial difficulties with others, which upset him and led to an argument with his wife.
The next day, on December 17, after attending a family gathering, the couple had another argument over their financial situation.
The combination of two days of arguments, and the consumption of alcohol at the family event, caused Kannemeyer to “boil over” and he slapped his wife several times.
Moments later their eldest son, Dexter, arrived and intervened. Cheryl-Ann then left the house with their son.
Kannemeyer conceded that the couple had had fights in the past that caused her to leave, but she always came back and the they made up.
However, he realised this time was different when she came to fetch her clothing and other personal items.
“I started getting worried that she was going to leave me for good, it terrified me. I was besotted and obsessed with my wife and I was very jealous as well.”
The plea further states how he planned to murder his wife and commit suicide if she would not take him back.
“I decided I was going to try a last time to talk to my wife and if she was really going to leave me for good, I would kill her and then kill myself.
“I could not live without her and I did not want anyone else to have her either.”
He wrote a letter to his family in which he explained his actions and apologised in advance.
On December 27, his wife arrived at their Beetlestone Road home with their housekeeper to assist with packing her belongings.
Kannemeyer had put a piece of webbing, similar to a towrope, in his pocket, and took a kitchen knife from the kitchen and put it in his other pocket.
He then took some of his wife's packed bags to the car where she was sitting.
“She flatly refused to talk to me. I felt rejected, angry and frustrated. In my anger I reached towards her and grabbed her around the throat with both hands and throttled her.”
When she lost consciousness, Kannemeyer tied the webbing around her neck and throttled her again.
He pushed her into the passenger seat and drove the car further into the yard and parked under a carport.
There he took the knife from his other pocket and stabbed her repeatedly in her upper body and neck.
“I have no idea how many times I stabbed her, but only stopped when her blood sprayed into my face. I stood there in disbelief, looking at what I had done.”
Kannemeyer tried phoning his youngest son, Blake, to inform him of the incident, but when there was no answer he phoned their pastor.
As the pastor arrived Kannemeyer turned the knife on himself, stabbing himself in the chest repeatedly before losing consciousness.
Kannemeyer pleaded guilty to charges of assault and murder.
As he was led back to the holding cells at court, Kannemeyer flashed a quick smile at his children, who left without interacting with their father.
Dexter took to Facebook shortly after his father's sentencing, asking the public for privacy and respect.
“To everyone in my inbox and commenting on these news publications ... you will never understand the abnormal situation my siblings and I find ourselves in. Not only were we robbed of our dearest mother, but we were also robbed of a father.
“We have forgiven our dad, that’s what our mother would’ve wanted. We will love him through his sentence. Please respect us.
“No amount of years will do justice to my mom’s life, but hopefully this 25-year sentence will bring us as a family some sort of healing and closure.
“Please continue keeping us in your prayers,” his post read.
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