25-year sentence for robbery and murder after beach encounter

 THE Vredenburg Regional Court has sentenced Wesley Snyders to 25 years in prison after he admitted to robbing and brutally murdering another man following a sexual encounter at a beach in Saldanha

Snyders admitted to stabbing  Elrico Byl multiple times and assaulting him with a rock before stealing his cellphone  between 14 and 17 January 2024.

Snyders  claimed that he and Byl agreed to have sex at the beach in Saldanha. After they had sex, he decided to rob Byl of his cellphone. However Byl resisted and did not want to hand over the cellphone, leading to a commotion that resulted in him being stabbed over his body with a knife.

He then took a rock that was close by and beat him with it before taking his cellphone and running away. 

Byl was reported missing on January 14 last year. His body was found three days later on the beach, severely injured and in a state that deeply shocked his family and community, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.

Although under the influence of drugs at the time, Snyders admitted he understood the difference between right and wrong, and that he had intended both the robbery and the murder.

Snyders will serve two-thirds of the 25-year direct imprisonment sentence before he can be placed on parole. The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103 of Act 60 of 2000.

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “Arguing for a sentence fitting the crime, Vredenburg Magistrates Court Senior Public Prosecutor said the accused caused the death of another human being, who was only 27 years old at the time of his death. This had a traumatic effect on his family and friends. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the sentence and commits to continue prosecuting criminals who commit serious crimes like murder.”

Cape Times