There is no doubt that a man carefully planned the beheading of a Cape Town teenager in 2013 so he could sell the body parts, a prosecutor argued in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.
Carine Teunissen told Judge Elize Steyn the court should thus find Aljar Swartz guilty of the premeditated murder of 15-year-old Lee Adams.
"The fact that the accused first tried to find out how and where to sell body parts, then how he tried to or incited the other witnesses to partake in this indicated that he thought this whole process through; that he actually had the intention for a long time to do this and actually chose the victims beforehand," said the prosecutor.
Teunissen said the machete and two knives found in his room added to her premeditation argument.
In a surprise turn of events last week, Swartz admitted to the crimes in a document handed to court.
However, he did not change his plea to guilty as widely reported.
Steyn clarified in court on Wednesday that she would first hear closing arguments before deciding whether to pass judgment.
Only if or when he was found guilty would sentencing then proceed.
The victim’s family stood out in purple in the public gallery. They later explained it was the teen’s favourite colour.
A security guard found the boy’s body at an abandoned school in Ravensmead. The head was later found in a shallow grave in the accused’s yard.
Swartz said in his admissions that he was a follower of Satan at the time. He wanted to sell the body parts to a sangoma (traditional healer).
Teunnisen submitted that Swartz killed the teen to get access to money, and not as part of a Satanist ritual.
Source: News24
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
