Update: 28 March 2025
Following a court-ordered 30-day mental health assessment by Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital, it has been confirmed that the 17-year-old teenager accused of the murder of Deveney Nel is fit to stand trial, reports Cape {town} Etc.
This comes as the teenage boy appeared in the Caledon Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning, facing a charge of murder.
Deveney Nel (16) was stabbed to death at Overberg High School in Caledon. Her body was subsequently found in a storeroom, located on the school grounds after she had been reported missing by her mother.
A few days after her body was discovered, the 17-year-old teenager in question was arrested and accused of her murder before the Caledon Magistrate’s Court ordered that he be admitted for the relevant evaluation in November 2024.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, who confirmed the results of the psychiatric evaluation to News24, the case was subsequently postponed to 24 April 2025, when it will be determined whether the trial will be heard in the Western Cape High Court or Regional Court.
The boy, currently being held in a place of safety for boys, will be transferred to prison next month after his 18th birthday, reported Netwerk24.
Ntabazalila also told the publication that his identity will not be revealed, as he was a minor when the fatal incident occurred, as well as at the time of his arrest. He will, therefore, also be tried as a minor when the trial takes place.
Cape {town} Etc has reached out to the NPA for further details.
Community activist Tanya Bipert, who was part of the group of people that came out to the Caledon Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning, in solidarity with the late Deveney Nel and to support her family, is urging community members to be present at every court appearance.
The 17-year-old teenager accused of the murder of Deveney Nel has been referred to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital in Observatory for further evaluation, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Also read: Deveney Nel: Mother of previous rape victim to take accused to court
The legal representatives of the teenager submitted an application to the court for the accused to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
Following the application, the Caledon Magistrate’s Court ordered that the accused be admitted for the relevant evaluation.
This resulted in the case being postponed until next month, according to News24.
Cape {town} Etc previously reported that 16-year-old Deveney Nel was stabbed to death at Overberg High School in Caledon.
Her body was subsequently found in a storeroom, located on the school grounds, after she had been reported missing by her mother.
A few days after her body was discovered, the 17-year-old teenager in question, was arrested and accused of her murder.
Following his arrest, the mother of a then 11-year-old-victim, came forward to remind the public that the same teen had been accused of the rape of her daughter in 2020.
The rape was reported to the relevant authorities yet the mother of the victim ultimately stated that the justice system failed both her and her daughter amidst the 2020 proceedings.
She went on to say that as a result of this, the justice system ultimately failed Deveney Nel too.
The teenager also underwent psychiatric evaluation as a consequence of the 2020 proceedings.
The Valkenberg Hospital psychiatrist and clinical psychologist, who evaluated the teenager at the time, concluded that the accused had ‘cognitive weakness and moral and social immaturity’.
Therefore, he found that the patient did not have criminal capacity at the time that the teen allegedly raped the 11-year-old victim in 2020 due to his cognitive weakness and moral and social immaturity.
However, it was stressed that they boy had a high risk of offending, resorting to violence and having ‘a disregard for societal rules and norms’.
The rape case against the teenager was withdrawn and a year later, Deveney Nel had been fatally stabbed.
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Picture: Hoërskool Overberg / Facebook
