In a powerful and haunting moment in the Gqeberha high court, the state presented an AI-generated image of what Krisley Dirker might have looked like today had she not died after being beaten by her stepfather as a toddler.
The unconventional step ahead of sentencing served as a visual reminder of a life cruelly taken from a defenceless child.
Krisley was just 19 months old when her mother’s husband, Robin Clarke, assaulted her so badly that she ended up in hospital and died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Clarke was found guilty of murder, while Krisley’s mother, Kristen Clarke, was convicted of child abuse and neglect.
The deputy director of public prosecutions in Gqeberha, advocate Marius Stander, called for Clarke to be sentenced to life imprisonment and for Kristen to serve 10 years behind bars.
“The state submits that the offences are of the gravest kind, involving the systematic abuse and ultimate death of a vulnerable 19-month-old child, wholly unable to protect herself or to seek assistance,” Stander told the court.
But it was the picture he then placed before the judge and the accused, showing a smiling teenager with auburn hair and a cellphone in her hand, that really drove the message home.
The picture, generated by AI, was to show what Krisley may have looked like today at the age of 14.
The portrait was adapted from a previous photograph taken of the little girl a month before her death.
It had taken the police and the prosecution more than 12 years to prove that little Krisley’s death in October 2013 was not accidental.
Clarke had initially claimed the child had fallen and hit her head.
“Sentencing in this matter must reflect the seriousness of the offences, the degree of moral blameworthiness of each accused, and the compelling societal interest in the protection of children,” Stander said.
Testifying earlier in mitigation of sentence, Kristen admitted to having failed her child.
She went on to have three more children with Clarke.
And while she conceded to having blindly trusted her husband, she said she now realised that he was a liar and had since cut all ties with him.
Sentencing in this matter must reflect the seriousness of the offences, the degree of moral blameworthiness of each accused, and the compelling societal interest in the protection of children.
— Advocate Marius Stander
Kristen’s testimony was used to try to convince the court to give her a non-custodial sentence so that she could continue to look after her three other children.
Stander said Clarke had stood in a position of trust, entrusted with the daily care and protection of a defenceless little girl while her mother was at work.
Instead, over an extended period of about two weeks, Krisley was subjected to repeated assaults.
“The injuries were not isolated or accidental but widespread, affecting the child’s arms, legs, hands, feet, back and head.”
Hospital staff had described it as one of the worst cases of child abuse they had ever come across.
“The assaults escalated in severity, culminating in the child becoming non-responsive, falling into a coma and ultimately dying of blunt-force head injuries,” Stander argued.
“This was not a momentary loss of control.
“It was a sustained pattern of violence, inflicted on a child who could neither flee nor speak. The murder of a young child in these circumstances is among the most serious offences known to our law.”
In calling for Clarke to be sentenced to life, Stander said a 19-month-old child being subjected to prolonged violence by a caregiver fell squarely within the category of offences that called for the maximum sentence to be imposed.
Quoting judge Glenn Goosen when he sentenced Gqeberha man Xolani Nyangwa to life in prison in 2019 for bludgeoning 14-year-old Wendy Beyi to death, Stander said: “Where a crime evokes public revulsion because of its cruelty and the vulnerability of the victim, the courts need to impose the maximum sentence.”
It was a sustained pattern of violence, inflicted on a child who could neither flee nor speak. The murder of a young child in these circumstances is among the most serious offences known to our law.
— Advocate Marius Stander
Stander said the extreme vulnerability of a toddler rendered such offences, as the one against Krisley, particularly heinous.
“Severe punishment is justified to reflect society’s moral outrage.
“Society demands that children be protected, not terrorised, in their own homes.”
Turning to Kristen, Stander said while she was acquitted of murder, she was found guilty of child neglect and abuse.
“[She] was the biological mother of the deceased and bore a legal and moral duty to safeguard her child.
“The abuse occurred over a prolonged period. Injuries of this magnitude could not have occurred without being noticed, particularly by a primary caregiver.
“While her blameworthiness does not rise to that of [Clarke’s], it is nonetheless serious. Parents who fail to act where harm is foreseeable cannot rely on passivity as mitigation.
“Parents cannot retreat into passivity when harm to their children is plain and foreseeable. Sentences must reflect that children depend exclusively on adults for survival.”
Stander said he appreciated the fact that the court needed to protect the interests of the Clarkes’ three minor children should both of their parents be jailed.
However, Krisley’s interests should also have been protected.
“Being a mother does not immunise a person from imprisonment where they have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to protect their first-born.
“The hardship that will flow from imprisonment, while regrettable, is the inevitable consequence of serious criminal conduct.
“While the presence of other minor children is a relevant consideration, it cannot be decisive.
“The Constitutional Court has made it clear that the best interests of children do not operate as a shield against accountability where serious abuse or neglect has occurred.”
He said Kristen’s failure to protect Krisley was not fleeting or momentary — it was prolonged and systematic.
“That history cannot be ignored merely because she has other children now.
“The justice system protects children by deterring abuse — not by excusing it when the offender has other dependants.”
Stander suggested alternative care arrangements could be made for the three minor children.
He submitted that a sentence of life imprisonment for Clarke and 10 years behind bars for Kristen would be appropriate.
“Only such sentences will adequately reflect the gravity of the offences, serve the interests of justice and affirm the constitutional imperative to protect children.”
Judge Vuyokazi Noncembu postponed the case to May 15 for sentencing.
Clarke, who had his bail revoked after being found guilty of murder, remains in custody.
Kristen is out on bail.
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