The Klawer man arrested in connection with the murder of a 13-year-old boy said he killed four people in Sea Point several years ago, according to his lawyer.
Santie Human, attorney of Daniel Smit (56) told reporters outside the Klawer Magistrates Court on Monday that her client had confessed to killing four people in the Cape Town suburb.
Smit was arrested after human remains were found in sewage pipes on his property. The remains are believed to be that of 13-year-old Jerobiojin van Wyk, who went missing days earlier. Police are yet to confirm the identity of the remains.
Smit faces charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
"He did tell me that there were another four bodies in Sea Point," Human said.
She said Smit had "spiritual problems" and did not have 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.
Human said that when Smit was 19, an occult group from Sea Point 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.
Smit made his first court appearance in the Klawer Magistrate's Court on Monday morning. His attorney requested that he be moved to a single cell for the safety of other inmates. Smit has also opted not to apply for bail.
"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.
The lawyer did not indicate when the four people had been killed and what happened to Smit after their deaths.
Meanwhile, chaos unfolded outside the Klawer court as anger and frustration grew among residents after the boy's murder. Police fired stun grenades in an attempt to disperse protesters outside court. Residents threatened to burn down Smit's home, where the human remains were found.
SOURCE: NEWS24
