Pre-sentencing proceedings for teen guilty of murder
|Published
Durban — Pre-sentencing proceedings are to get under way on Friday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court for a teen who was convicted of stabbing and killing a fellow pupil.
Last month, Ryleigh Naidoo was found guilty of the murder of Jayden Glazer, whom he stabbed at an arranged fistfight after school, in 2022, in Ashley, Pinetown.
At the time of the murder, the teens were pupils at Chosen Independent Studies where Glazer was in Grade 9 and Naidoo was in Grade 10.
Naidoo was 16 at the time, while Glazer was 15.
On Friday sentencing proceedings will begin ahead of a sentence being handed down to the 18-year-old.
It is expected that Glazer’s mother, Jorina Pretorius, will take the stand to testify on the impact that the murder has had on her and her family.
The trial was heard in-camera due to Naidoo being underage, as well as other witnesses, however, the accused turned 18 at the end of January when arguments by the defence and State on the merits of the case were heard before a ruling on judgment was made.
During the trial the court heard evidence from a teen who had recorded the moments leading up to Glazer’s stabbing on his cellphone.
He has told the court that a fistfight had allegedly been set up on that day; it was there that the accused allegedly stabbed Glazer.
The video clip was played in court and in it Jayden is seen walking to the boys with his hands behind his back, he has no weapon, and then the accused stabs him. Jayden can then be seen laying on the grass bleeding out.
Voices in the video can be heard saying, “No weapons; we said no weapons.”
In the video Glazer is unarmed, and the testimony indicated that he was asked to pull up his T-shirt to show that he had no weapons. One witness gave evidence that Glazer also had a knife which he had dropped, however, this is not captured in the video.
State prosecutor Andre De Nysschen had asked that the court find Naidoo guilty and reject his self-defence submission as the facts of the case did not support it.
He argued that Naidoo intentionally stabbed Glazer, adding that there was no justification for him stabbing with such force in a vulnerable part of his body.
Glazer was stabbed in the stomach.
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