A 71-year-old South African woman, Susana “Sarie” De Villiers, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murders of her three great-grandchildren in a tragic incident that occurred in the Western Cape province.
According to South African news outlet Nova News, De Villiers was sentenced on Thursday by the Worcester Regional Court after pleading guilty to the three murders in March 2025.
The victims were identified as Caleb Booysen, eight; Gradwell Booysen, five; and Joshua Booysen, who was just 18 months old at the time of their deaths.
The children died on November 20, 2021, after a vehicle driven by De Villiers plunged down Bainskloof Pass.
Reports indicate that De Villiers had been hosting the children and other relatives at her home in Wellington, Western Cape, and was expected to drive the children back home that day.
However, they never arrived at their destination.
According to accounts presented in reports about the incident, eyewitnesses told authorities that roadworks were taking place along Bainskloof Pass, where traffic officers were controlling the movement of vehicles through stop-and-go points.
De Villiers was reportedly seen driving through the traffic control points without stopping and passing a closed boom gate.
Traffic control officers had halted other vehicles to prevent a possible head-on collision.
When De Villiers’ vehicle failed to arrive at a fourth traffic control point, a patrol vehicle was dispatched to investigate.
The vehicle was subsequently discovered to have left the road and plunged down the pass, resulting in the deaths of the three children.
Caleb and Gradwell reportedly died at the scene, while the youngest child, Joshua, survived briefly before succumbing to his injuries.
The rescue operation was further complicated by poor weather conditions, which prevented a rescue helicopter from reaching the scene.
Rescuers were consequently forced to carry the injured toddler up the pass to the road.
De Villiers also survived the incident but sustained serious injuries, including broken ribs and a neck injury.
Following the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings, she pleaded guilty to the murders in March 2025.
The court handed down a 20-year prison sentence for each of the three murders. However, the magistrate ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning De Villiers will serve a total of 20 years rather than 60 years.
The court also declared her unfit to possess a firearm.
During the sentencing proceedings, magistrate Clifton Maseti revoked De Villiers’ release on warning and issued a warrant committing her to prison.
The sentence brings a significant development in a case that has drawn attention to the deaths of three young children who were in the care of a family member when the tragedy occurred.
The circumstances surrounding the incident, including the reported disregard of traffic control points and a closed boom gate, formed part of the accounts of how the vehicle came to leave the road.
The case also highlights the devastating consequences of road incidents involving children and the importance of establishing accountability through the judicial process.
For the Booysen family, the deaths of Caleb, Gradwell and Joshua represent the loss of three young lives in a single incident.
With the court ordering the three sentences to run concurrently, De Villiers faces 20 years in prison for the murders of her three great-grandchildren.
Mediaplusng.com: Reporting the facts that matter.
