Smith, a former mathematics teacher at a primary school near Brits, was earlier found guilty of beating his wife to death on 12 October 2024. He was also found guilty of defeating and/or obstructing the course of justice after dumping her body in a veld near Brits and then reporting her missing.
Theonette Smith’s half-naked body was discovered next to a railway line in Rashoop on 13 October 2024. At the time of the discovery, Smith was at a police station telling police that his wife had gone missing after an argument the day before.
Smith initially pleaded guilty, but the High Court changed his plea to not guilty after a specialist for the defense alleged that Theonette’s medication intake, the night of the event’s alcohol consumption and high blood pressure could have led to a spontaneous brain haemorrhage.
However, a pathologist for the state testified that there were no signs of an aneurysm and that the only cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and face. The court subsequently found him guilty of murder.
During his plea, he told the court that they were celebrating his permanent appointment by the education department on the night of the murder. According to Smith, Theonette was under the influence of alcohol and became aggressive. He alleged that she hit and bit him, and that he hit back. She went limp, and he thought she had passed out as a result of the liquor.
He left her in the lounge and went to bed. He later realised she was dead, after which he loaded her body into his car and dumped her in the veld. He told the court that he loved her and did not mean to kill her.
The state prosecutor, Advocate Vusimusi Tshabalala, said during cross-examination that Smith only testified about the couple’s problems to portray Theonette as a “bad person”. He argued that Smith had no respect for his wife, leaving her exposed body in the veld. “Smith says he is sorry, but he afterwards still lied to the police.”
Smith remains in custody and is expected to be sentenced later this month.
