South Africa’s longest-running rape and murder trial has finally culminated in justice for the family of 17-year-old Cytheria Rex, with her killers receiving sentences of 25 years and life imprisonment.
South Africa’s longest-running rape and murder trial has finally culminated in justice for the family of 17-year-old Cytheria Rex, with her killers receiving sentences of 25 years and life imprisonment. This brutal case, which began with the tragic loss of a young life on February 21, 2009, seeks to highlight not only the grave impact of gender-based violence but also the systemic failures within the legal system.
After nearly two decades of proceedings, Cytheria's mother, Jacqueline Rex, expressed her relief mixed with sorrow upon hearing the verdict. "Thank you, Jesus," she said, reflecting on the protracted journey towards justice. “I am glad it is over, but it will not take away the pain and the hurt. She was a flower, she didn't deserve the death she got... Everyone loved her.”
Cytheria, who was murdered after a party, was subjected to a gruesome attack, being stabbed more than 30 times. Her killers tried to conceal their crime by disposing of her body in a wheelie bin before abandoning it in a field. The tragic end to her young life left a gaping hole in her family, with her aunt Cathleen van der Merwe remarking, “I am still emotional about everything that we had to go through; their families can still go and visit them in jail, but it won't bring our child back.”
