Heckmair’s mother testifies for harsher sentences

"We could never come to terms with the brutal murder of our son. We just want to know why. What was the reason?”This is what André Heckmair&#039;s mother Birgit said yesterday in the Windhoek High Court when she was called to testify.She said the death of their son hit their family hard. Along with her husband Peter and their daughter, she received psychological counselling and according to her, Peter became ill and depressed after the murder."He lost his best friend."André was 25 years old when he was shot and killed in the driver&#039;s seat of his sister&#039;s car on 7 January 2011 in Windhoek. Although he was studying at a hotel school in Switzerland at the time, he was in Namibia to spend the holidays with his family. He was due to fly back the day after his murder.Can’t copeTwo American nationals, Marcus Thomas and Kevan Townsend - who were found guilty of the murder on 6 September - have so far neither admitted guilt nor shown remorse.On the day of his murder, André had a lunch date with "Americans" and saw his family shortly before."We greeted him before his appointment and the next time we saw him was in the morgue with a bullet wound in his right cheek. To this day, we cannot [cope] with that image," his mother said in court yesterday.State prosecutor Antonia Verhoef did not call any further witnesses or present further arguments and closed their case.‘Delaying tactics’At the start of yesterday&#039;s proceedings, Thomas and Townsend&#039;s representatives, Salomon Kanyemba and Mbanga Siyomuinji, informed the court that they had received instructions that morning to bring an application to address trial irregularities. The alleged irregularities were in relation to the record, which was believed to be incomplete.The application was meant to be submitted within 14 days of conviction, but the lawyers intended to submit it with an application for condonation.However, Judge Christie Liebenberg ruled that the intended application lacked merit and ordered parties to begin pre-sentencing arguments.Kanyemba once again requested that the case be postponed.Liebenberg was unhappy with the lawyer’s unpreparedness."In my 39 years on the bench, this is the first time this has happened... Please stop these delaying tactics," Liebenberg said before granting Kanyemba a 30-minute break to consult with Thomas.However, after the break, Kanyemba informed the court that the 30 minutes were not enough and requested that the matter be adjourned until today. Liebenberg granted the request.–kristien@republikein.com.na

Heckmair’s mother testifies for harsher sentences

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Heckmair’s mother testifies for harsher sentences

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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