South African homo Michael Barend van Zyl has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his former real estate broker lover, Andre Weitz. Barend van Zyl killed Weitz with an ax in June of 2004, after they had broken up. It seems Weitz went on with his life, taking a new lover and living happily in a Cape Town suburb. Van Zyl didn’t take the news too well and appeared on Weitz doorstep to talk things out. Weitz didn’t want to talk, however, and drove his ex-boyfriend to a bus stop for a trip to Durban.
Unfortunately, Van Zyl didn’t board that bus. Instead, the 29-year old went back to Weitz’s house, broke in, attempted to kill himself and once Weitz and his lover went to bed, Van Zyl took it upon himself to take Weitz life.
Barend van Zyl wept as Judge Daniel Dlodlo harangued him for his vengeful act:
You benefited greatly from your relationship with Weitz, who provided you with food and shelter. He treated you as if he had a legal obligation to do so, like a concerned parent. It is possible that you became an unbearable burden to him, but he did not deserve the brutal attack that you inflicted on him.
Dlodlo went on to say that Van Zyl’s premeditated murder proves he’s a threat to himself and others:
Your vicious ax attack on the deceased tells the court what kind of violence you are capable of, and that you might in the future be inclined to do it again to someone else.
In addition to his life sentence, Van Zyl got an extra 15 years for attempt to escape in Weitz’s vehicle. Because, you know, he’s really got to learn his lesson: hacking people to death with an ax and stealing their car just ain’t right.
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Axe murderer gets life for killing boyfriend [The Independent]
Paul Raposo
That’s seriously fucked up. People need to learn when to call the police. This nut tried to dust himself and rather than call the cops, they left him alone and went to bed? Call the cops and get him hauled out of the house immediately. No matter how much you use to love someone, sometimes calling the police is the best thing you can do for them.