“She got what she deserved, she didn’t kill animals.”
This was the reaction from a relative of two murdered women this week, after their killer was convicted at the Cape High Court.
After a marathon trial, Levonna Jacobs has been found guilty of all TEN charges against her, relating to the murder of her aunt and cousin, whom she smothered to death and buried in their own backyard in Delft.
Their bodies were dug up in December 2015, months after their disappearance, after suspicious relatives alerted the police.
Jacobs, 38, looked defeated on Tuesday as Judge Mushtak Parker delivered his judgment in less than an hour.
VICTIMS: Virna and Rowena Jacobs murdered by Levonna
She had been out on
R10 000 bail and went on the run in November, but was nabbed four months later at a Parow church.
Parker allowed Jacobs to sit while he read out his verdict, detailing her role in the deaths of Virna Jacobs, 47, and her daughter, Rowena Jacobs, 26.
He found Jacobs guilty on all ten charges, including murder, theft, kidnapping, fraud and forgery, and defeating the ends of justice.
Parker said Jacobs had planned the murders from the time that her uncle, Donovan Jacobs, passed away in March 2015.
Donovan was married to Virna, but Levonna wanted his Sering Street house in Delft.
GRIM: Report of the bodies dug up
“She knew that after her uncle died Virna would inherit the house,” said Parker.
After the women’s murders, Jacobs moved into the house, took over their finances, and committed fraud and forgery by pretending to be Rowena in police affidavits.
Parker said Jacobs used Rowena’s Sassa card for her own benefit and also misled cops by pretending to be Virna in text messages sent weeks after her bizarre disappearance.
He said Jacobs fooled everyone by saying that Virna had gone to Namaqualand over an inheritance issue, and Rowena had left for Malmesbury to get a job, leaving behind her two young children.
“You fooled everyone, your net you spread so wide,” the judge said.
Jacobs had told the court that Rowena was out partying and didn’t look after her children.
“She (Jacobs) forced her into a car where she was never seen alive again after that,” said Parker.
Rowena and Virna’s decomposed bodies were dug up by family and police in December 2015.
RELIEF: Sister, Nonita Witbooi
“She tied their hands and feet and suffocated them to death,” said Parker.
The judge said Jacobs was an “unreliable” witness, and failed to bring anyone to the court to support her claims.
Asking Jacobs to rise, the judge pronounced: “The accused is found guilty of all ten counts.”
Jacobs remained stoned-faced and showed no emotion.
Outside court, Virna’s sister, Nonita Witbooi, shed tears of relief, saying they can finally get closure and move on: “She got what she deserved, she didn’t kill animals.”
Jacobs will be back in court on 27 May for sentencing.