A mother has been sentenced to 23 years in prison after purposely poisoning her stepdaughter when she laced her ice cream with deadly rat poisoning to ‘spite’ her real mother
A woman who poisoned her 11-year-old stepdaughter is now facing 23 years in prison after being found guilty.
Clara Masinga, 37, laced her 11-year-old stepdaughter’s ice cream with rat poison, causing a deadly reaction. It’s thought that the crime was committed to spite the girl’s mum.
Masinga was found guilty of premeditated murder after pleading guilty under a Section 105A plea and sentence agreement with the State. Wednesday, October 15, saw the sentencing of this vicious woman, taking place in the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela, South Africa.
On March 21, 2015, Masinga sent the victim’s friend to get her from home as she strategically waited nearby in KwaMhlushwa, Malelane, the court heard.
Upon both of their return, she called her accomplice and left them in charge of the children while she fetched some ice cream and Rattex brand poison from the store.
Together, they then crushed the poison, carefully mixing it into the ice cream before giving it to victim Jennifer Gumbi.
After consuming the poison, Jennifer was found dumped in a ditch near the Mlumati River.
State Advocate Senzo Zindela told the court that in order to cover up her tracks, Masinga poured boiling water all over her body.
She was arrested after a short police investigating, before she admitted to her actions in court, agreeing that her actions were “unlawful”.
In her plea, Masinga revealed that the aim of her murder was to spite Jennifer’s biological mother.
With these circumstances, the court decided to deviate from the minimum sentence prescribed and opt to give her 23 years of direct imprisonment.
Judge Vukeya condemned the growing number of domestic violence cases in South Africa and the continued killing of women and children.
A statement from NPA’s regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said: “The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the sentence and commends the dedicated efforts of all law enforcement agencies involved in bringing the perpetrator to justice.
“The NPA reiterates that the value of human life is immeasurable and remains steadfast in its commitment to prosecuting domestic and gender-based violence cases vigorously to deter would-be offenders.”