Woman guilty of occult murder

A Free State woman has been convicted of being part of an occult murder in Welkom.

Virginia Circuit Court Judge Albert Kruger found Chane van Heerden, 20, guilty of murder, robbery, and dismembering Michael van Eck's body in a graveyard in April.

Van Heerden pleaded guilty to all the charges.

She and Maartens van der Merwe, 24, were charged with luring Van Eck, 23, to Welkom Cemetery, where he was killed and dismembered.

In her plea, Van Heerden said she and Van der Merwe had been in a relationship. They had studied the occult and practised rituals.

She said Van der Merwe had suggested that they tackle something "more challenging".

Van Heerden acknowledged that she met Van Eck on the internet chatroom 2go, and that they agreed to meet at the graveyard in Welkom at 9pm on April 2.

She and Van der Merwe agreed that he would stab Van Eck to death and that she would butcher the body.

Van Heerden said that, during the struggle, Van der Merwe battled to overpower Van Eck. She helped by stabbing Van Eck in the back.

After Van Eck was killed, Van Heerden removed his head. She and Van der Merwe each removed a hand, a foot and an arm. The pair dug a shallow grave.

Van Heerden said she removed Van Eck's eyes, ears and facial skin the next day and placed them in a freezer.

When the police contacted her several days later, she confessed.

Van Heerden told the court she acknowledged that her acts were wrong.

Some of Van Eck's remains were found in the shallow grave at the cemetery; others were found in the couple's garden.

The court separated the trials of Van Heerden and Van der Merwe yesterday.

Van der Merwe's lawyer, Sunette Kruger, said he wanted further psychiatric evaluation of his client before pleading.