ROBERTHO McNab, a 38-year-old man who was found guilty of the murder of his estranged wife after being served divorce papers, was sentenced to life imprisonment by High Court Judge Marilize du Plessis.
McNab is said to have murdered Dapeua Helen Onesmus (43) on 16 February 2024 at her home in Rocky Crest by waiting for her in her dark garage and stabbing her 27 times with a pair of scissors and a knife when she returned home around 18:00 hours.
It is alleged that the accused travelled to Windhoek to pick up some of his properties at the home of the deceased.
It is alleged that McNab also tried to take his own life after the incident by slitting his throat, but he survived to face the consequences of his actions.
According to a neighbour’s testimony, at about 18:00 he heard the deceased Onesmus screaming, “please stop,” and thereafter only screams of terror. It is alleged that the neighbour could not enter the house to help, as both the front burglar door and the garage door were locked.
It is alleged that McNab had been married to the deceased from 1 July 2022, but that there were no children born from the marriage. The deceased, however, had a 14-year-old son born of a previous marriage, who was in the house at the time of the incident.
During her ruling, Du Plessis said that it is clear the injuries suffered by the deceased speak of a frenzy of violence.
“Whether the accused was a peaceful man before and after this incident does not distract from the fact that he stabbed his wife 27 times on the day of the incident and that he did so despite her cries for him to stop,” Du Plessis said.
She added that the fact that the murder took place within a domestic setting should be taken into account as an aggravating factor by the sentencing court.
“The court further held that in exercising sentencing discretion, the court should endeavour for uniformity in sentencing whilst at the same time upholding the merits of each sentence it imposes. Where a murder has been committed with extreme violence, the nature of the offence and the interest of the community will outweigh the personal circumstances of the accused,” Du Plessis said.
