The Klawer man, Daniel Smit (56), was arrested last week for the murder of a 13-year-old boy who picked a mango from Smit’s tree. The case, however, just got more troubling as Smit admitted this was not the first time he killed a person.
Klawer man claims to have killed four other people
Santie Human, Smit’s attorney, spoke to reporters outside the Klawer Magistrate’s Court on Monday and revealed that her client confessed to killing four people in the Cape Town suburb of Sea Point.
“He did tell me that there were another four bodies in Sea Point,” Human said.
According to Human, Smit has “spiritual problems” but did not have a mental illness.
“My client got involved in the occult when he was 13 years old, in Vredendal, when he met someone from out of town who gave him stuff about the occult to read. He felt he belonged – part of it,” she added.
And when Smit was 19-years-old, a Sea Point occult group showed him “how to kill”.
“He learnt how to kill with very little blood spilt, to incinerate the body and to throw any remains in the sea,” she said.
Human did not elaborate on when the four victims were killed or what happened to Smith after his crimes all those years ago.
Daniel Smit faces four charges against him
Smit made his first court appearance today, 7 February, at the Klawer Magistrate’s Court.
He faces charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
Human, his attorney, also requested that Smit be placed in a single “cell for the safety of other inmates”.
“He wants to be delivered from the evil spirits, and I have arranged for a well-known spiritual leader in our community, Jan Oosthuizen, to assist,” Human said.
Outside of the Klawer court, there was just as much action happening. A group of angry and frustrated residents gathered outside the gates in protest of the boy’s murder. Police had to intervene to keep the group calm, as threats were overheard stating that Smit’s home will be burnt down.
