16 Years later: Five face justice on Cytheria Rex's murder anniversary
Cape Town - “The day I cried, they smiled, they laughed, they had their fun. Now my tears have dried up. We will have joy and laughter on the day she died because it is their turn to cry.”
These are the chilling and heart-wrenching words of Jacqueline Rex, the mother of 17-year-old Cytheria Rex, who was raped and murdered on February 21, 2009.
Now, in an ironic and significant twist 16 years later on the same date Virgil Sass, Oswill Grootboom, Imeraan Hendricks, Lee Cloete and Rhonwan Rhode, are expected to be sentenced in the Strand Regional Court.
Sentencing for the five men has been scheduled for Friday, February 21.
Cytheria’s body was discovered the night after her killing, on the morning of February 22, 2009, in Kraaifontein, after she had been shoved inside a wheelie bin.
In November 2024, the court found the five men guilty of her rape and murder, and placed all initial seven accused at the crime.
Two of the accused – Warren Robertson and Keenan Lewis, have since died. Crucial DNA evidence and a witness testimony is what sealed the men’s fate.
A witness detailed how the killers had dragged her body down the passage of the house they had been partying in and placed it inside the wheelie bin.
The case has been postponed over 115 times and was moved from the Blue Downs Regional Court to Strand Regional Court while the trial was midway, after the magistrate was transferred for work duties.
Jacqueline told the Cape Argus she found peace in God’s plan to sentence the men who killed her daughter on the anniversary of her death: “God plans, He decides. On the day that she died, He knew the very same day, they would be placed into prison. Our God is a favourable God. He is a God of justice and righteousness. He knew that we will celebrate the day that she died because this will be the day that they (her killers) will cry. We cried our cries, we had our tears, our tears are gone now, on the day I cried, they are crying. God knew, he knew this was going to happen.”
Cytheria’s aunt, Cathleen van der Merwe, said the family had closure.
“It has been 16 years of pain and hardship, coming to court, struggling and finally, I can say, I can die in peace because this case kept me on my feet,” she said.
“All the struggle of all of the years, it was just me and Jacky and her father, that we were struggling with no family members to give us some support.
“I am just glad and I thank the Lord that it is going to be over.”
Former Daily Voice reporter, Megan Baadjies, who was one of the first reporters on the case, said it was a matter she would never forget.
“This case was postponed for various reasons such as the lawyer was sick or the accused was ill and I eventually lost track of the case,” she explained.
“We knew when we went to the court case, it was going to be postponed. “Cytheria’s father Keith was always at court and the mother Jacky, she also became frustrated with all the postponements.”
During verdict, Magistrate Deon van der Spuy said in his findings: “They all had intent to rape and murder the victim. The reason why I am saying so is because the victim was stabbed 39 times, and she was dragged down the passage and all of the accused tried to throw her over the wall. Everyone or some helped to put the body into the wheelie bin.”