Mother of teens murderer, Xander Bylsma have said that she is not ashamed of him.
“It’s my child, God gave him to me. People look at me strangely when I say this, but I will not change my mind, because I am not ashamed of my child,” heartbroken Mercia Bylsma said.
The North West High Court in Mahikeng on Friday gave Bylsma two life sentences after he was found guilty on two counts of murder.
He was accused of killing two girls – Marna Engelbrecht, 17, and Sharnelle Hough, 16 – on Saturday, 26 May 2018.
The girls bodies were found at the hostel at Hoërskool Stella in North West.
He strangled the girls and tried to make their deaths look like suicide.
However, Bylsma’s parents still believe that their son is innocent.
The separated couples were formerly police officers and the court heard that their divorce had a huge impact on Xander’s social behaviour.
Mercia agreed to making mistakes “but we also just tried our best – the person described in that court is not my child.”
According to her, she and her ex-husband were also sad about the girls’ deaths.
After sentencing, Mercia waited in the parking lot behind the courthouse to say her goodbye to her son.
She could only shout “Bye,Seuna!” as the vehicle that transported Xander to prison drove by so quickly. She immediately broke down in tears.
However, Bylsma’s parents still want to appeal the verdict. “We want to see the real culprit in court and also want the murder to be solved”.
State prosecutor Johan Smit said the Bylsmas’ appeal would be lodged this week because “they have the right to do so, and then it’s up to the court to decide,” he reportedly said.
Director of Public Prosecutions in North West, advocate Moipone Noko, was pleased with Bylsma’s conviction. She also expressed her dismay at the increase in gender-based violence and femicide.
“I really hope that this sentence bears a deterrent effect to would-be perpetrators of the same offence as those that Bylsma has been convicted of,” Noko said.
