The evidence for the state was that the accused was a humble and gentle person, and good to the deceased and her mother. He had no knowledge of the death of the deceased and claimed at the trial that this was because of the combination of alcohol and crack cocaine. He looked disorientated and smelt of liquor. The accused was found the next morning in Umhlanga Rocks. When she returned home she found the house ransacked and her daughter lying with a plastic bag over her head. He and the deceased then went out, possibly to buy drugs, and returned before the deceased’s mother went out to a casino. The accused returned homelater, looking intoxicated. On the way home they dropped the accused at a tavern. On the day of the deceased’s death, the accused and the deceased, as well as the deceased’s mother, who also lived in the same house, went to a shopping mall and had lunch. The accused was charged with the murder of his girlfriend with whom he lived and whom he was planning to marry. General principles of liability - Criminal capacity - Sane automatism - Amnesia - Induced by alcohol and drugs - Competent verdict - Contravention of s 1(1) of Criminal Law Amendment Act 1 of 1988 - Difficulties with convicting accused of statutory offence in certain circumstances unable to be solved without legislative intervention. General principles of liability - Criminal capacity - Sane automatism - Amnesia - Induced by alcohol and drugs - Proof of - Accused, described as humble and gentle person, having killed woman he was intending to marry - Accused appearing confused on following morning and unaware of what he had done - Accused acquitted.
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