Brother-in-law stabbed to death with a kitchen knife, case postponed

The case in which a Silobela teenager stabbed her brother-in-law to death with a kitchen knife has been postponed to next Monday.

According to court records the accused was 16 years old at the time she fatally stabbed 17-year-old Proud Moyo once on the chest.

High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva on Wednesday convicted the juvenile of culpable homicide.

She was initially facing murder charges.

But delivering judgment, Takuva said the accused had no intention to kill the deceased, but was negligent in the way she handled the scuffle with her brother-in-law resulting in his death.

During the trial that ended on Tuesday, the accused was inconsistent and at one time admitted to the crime, but later claimed the deceased stabbed himself, as the two tussled for the knife. She said the two always argued and alleged that Moyo was the one who got hold of the knife and she thought he was going to stab her.

It is the State's case that on August 11, 2014, Moyo went into the kitchen intending to take a knife he wanted to use to mend his scotch cart tyre. He found the accused using the knife and a dispute ensued over that, with the latter refusing to release it.

As the two fought for the knife, the juvenile stabbed the deceased once on the chest.

Moyo staggered from the kitchen hut before falling and dying instantly.

The accused was found holding the knife and had blood stains on her clothes. A report was made to the police, leading to her arrest.