The words of a devastated mother echo through the courtroom, capturing a grief that defies comprehension:
“To think I gave birth to a whole human body, only to get it back in pieces.”
These words, spoken by Triesa van Wyk, mother of the 13-year-old boy murdered in February 2022 by a Klawer farmer, recount the tragedy of a young life cut short and the profound pain left behind. Her son, Jerobejin, was brutally killed by Daniel Smit, whose acts shook the small South African community and garnered nationwide outrage.
At the Vredendal Circuit Court, emotions ran high as a letter from Triesa, detailing her trauma, was read aloud. Her heartfelt message came just one day after Daniel Smit was convicted of both kidnapping and premeditated murder of young Jerobejin. Addressing Judge Hayley Slingers, Triesa recounted the horrific details of her son’s final day and the unbearable reality she now faces as a mother.
Smit, labeled in the press as the “Klawer Killer,” took to trial last week. In his plea, he graphically confessed to breaking Jerobejin’s neck, placing him in a freezer, and later dismembering and partially burning his remains. Smit’s chilling explanation described how he confronted Jerobejin, alleging the boy had stolen fruit from his farm and aggravated Smit’s anger by, in his words, treating him as a “gat.”
Witnesses testified that Smit ran the child over with his vehicle and took him back to his home. Days later, law enforcement discovered human remains concealed in drains on Smit’s property, confirming the grim suspicions surrounding the boy’s fate.
In her letter to the court, Triesa described the devastating moment she learned of her son’s death. Returning home from work—where she is her family’s primary provider—she was met with the alarming news that Jerobejin had gone missing. After a sleepless night filled with uncertainty and dread, she received confirmation that her son had been killed. Her words convey the heartbreak that now defines her life:
“Suddenly, life didn’t make sense and not even my daughter could console me.”
Addressing Smit directly, she shared the raw memories of the day she visited his house, pleading with him for answers about her son’s whereabouts:
“I asked you where my child was. I can’t think how you, in your capacity as a parent of a child, could find it in your heart to murder another person’s child so brutally.”
The court listened in silence as Triesa recounted her journey to the mortuary, expecting to see her son one last time. Instead, what she found were mere fragments of what once was her child, a heartbreaking sight that no parent should ever have to witness.
“On the day we were taken to the mortuary my expectation was to at least find a body, only to find a small plastic bag with body parts,”
she shared, the anguish in her words resonating deeply with all in attendance.
In her letter, she pleaded with Smit to reveal her son’s final words, desperately hoping for some closure in the midst of her torment:
“I still have sleepless nights. When I close my eyes, I hear my child calling for me. I see how my child is cut up into pieces. To think I gave birth to a whole human body only to get it back in pieces.”
In closing, she implored the court to remove Smit from society, stating resolutely that she could never forgive him for the pain and loss he inflicted on her family.
With sentencing set for Monday, the court awaits the final decision that will determine Smit’s fate.
