Paul John Petersen

Paul John Petersen (1963 - 1988)

Brief overview:

Paul (25), was accosted by three assailants and stabbed in the heart when he walking along a road in Parow on 9th December 1988.

"Eye-witness, Ina Adams saw Paul walking in a road. Next she saw the three accused, all of whom were known to her, running towards him. As one of the attackers (Donovan Diedericks) approached he ran with his one hand in his pocket. On reaching the deceased, the appellant stabbed him. He fell to the ground and the other two accused searched his pockets as he lay there. One of them placed something taken from the deceased's pocket in his pocket. She was unable to say what it was. The three of them then walked away."

The medical evidence established that one stab wound to the heart, with what must have been a large knife, was the cause of death.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
  • 3
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • KUMLEBEN, JA: At his (Donovan Diedericks) trial in the Cape Provincial Division of the Supreme Court the appellant was charged with two others, accused nos 2 and 3, with murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. On the first count the appellant alone was found guilty of murder (his co-accused of culpable homicide) and on the robbery count all were found guilty as charged. In the absence of proof on a balance of probabilities that there were extenuating circumstances, the appellant was sentenced to death on the murder charge. The court (Williamson J), however, granted leave to appeal against the death sentence, that is the finding that there were no extenuating circumstances. This conclusion and the decision to grant leave to appeal were based on the law as it stood at the time of conviction, that is, before the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act No 51 of 1977 by the Criminal Law Amendment Act No 107 of 1990.
  • Aggravating factors, serious though they are, in my view in the particular circumstances of this case, do not warrant the conclusion that the death sentence, and none other, is the proper one. The appeal is allowed. The sentence of the appellant on the murder charge is set aside and replaced by one of 20 years imprisonment. The substituted sentence is antedated to 23 February 1990 and is to run concurrently with the sentence of 2 years imprisonment imposed on the robbery charge. M E KUMLEBEN JUDGE OF APPEAL.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Cause of death : WORD ONDERSOEK
• ID NUMBER : 6309045192084
• https://www.gendatabase.com/deceased-record.php?q=3512859&r=PAUL%20...

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/0XhuH (Court document)