Mother's emotional statement seals 25-year sentence

IN A final blow to seal the 25-year imprisonment fate of her daughter’s murderer, Lida Nel gave an emotional victim impact statement detailing what her life has been like since the brutal killing of Deveney Nel.

- CHEVON BOOYSEN

DEVENEY Nel's body was found in the storeroom at Hoërskool Overberg. Supplied

(Supplied)

Deveney’s killer, a 17-year-old peer who entered into a plea agreement with the State admitting his guilt, was handed the maximum sentence by the Western Cape High Court this week.

In the lead-up to the trial, the teenage killer - whose identity was withheld during the trial due to his age - underwent a 30-day psychiatric evaluation at Valkenberg Hospital. The assessment confirmed that he was fit to stand trial.

Lida and the investigating officer were both consulted before the sentence agreement was concluded, and they agreed with it.

In an emotional account of dealing with the loss and grieving her slain daughter, Lida said Deveney was “brutally, deliberately, and cold-bloodedly murdered”.

“She must have been so afraid and scared, wondering whether someone would find her; she must have felt so alone. There was a lot of blood.”