A 29-year-old cross-dresser who pleaded guilty to the murder of Graham Flax in his flat last year has been sentenced to 15 years.
|||Cape Town - A 29-year-old cross-dresser who pleaded guilty to the murder of Graham Flax in a Sea Point flat last year has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
A Cape Town Regional Court magistrate jailed Jerome Benjamin for 15 years, with six years suspended, for murder, theft and the attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
Benjamin, of Delft, who also goes by the name Jade September, was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the murder. He pleaded guilty to killing Flax, 65, whom he met on an internet site, in his Costa Bravo flat in Beach Road on March 3.
Benjamin admitted he fetched a bottle of whisky, hit Flax over the head while he slept and stabbed him numerous times in his neck and chest.
He then stole Flax’s laptop and BlackBerry cellphone, which he sold in the CBD to get money to buy drugs. Benjamin later handed himself over to police.
Outside court on Tuesday, Dani Janks, a relative of Flax, said the sentencing would not bring him back.
Barbara Macdonald, a friend of Flax for 40 years, said that although Benjamin showed remorse, he still knew what he was doing on that day.
“He said he was sorry and under the influence of drugs at the time. But he still stole the laptop and cellphone.
“Graham was such a gentle, tolerant and cultured person. I really loved him. He was the best friend, kind and caring, always giving and a very good mentor.”
natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za
Cape Argus