Married father-of-two pleads guilty to killing his lover with 4-pound hammer

“I reached for the hammer from my open toolbox and struck her twice on her head”

A CHATSWORTH married father of two has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his lover, following a violent argument which was sparked by the discovery of four voodoo dolls in her bedroom.

In the Durban High Court, last Wednesday, Sugendren Rodney Naicker, 35, pleaded guilty to killing his lover, Vyaksha Sookdew, with a four pound hammer, on December 21, 2023.

Sookdew’s decomposed body was discovered wrapped in black plastic bin bags in the bathroom of her Havenside home, on December 25, 2023.

Her body was identified by a relative only through her belly ring and clothes.

At the time of her death, Sookdew, 35, was an instrumentation technician at AECI Mining Chemicals in Amanzimtoti.

During his bail application in January last year, the court heard that Naicker was unemployed and had been struggling with drug addiction for about six months.

He did not support his wife and children and had no previous convictions or trouble with the law, the court was told.

Naicker was arrested on December 24, 2023, when quick thinking petrol attendants at a fuel station in Bayview called police after they noticed that he was the same person who had filled fuel (in his brother’s vehicle) and fled without paying his bill.

Naicker had returned to the same fuel station later that day to purchase airtime, but with Sookdew’s car, when he was spotted. Attendants at the fuel station stalled him until police arrived.

While in police custody at the Bayview police station, Naicker confessed to killing Sookdew.

He led police to the scene, three days after her killing. 

In his plea last week, Naicker said he had been in an extra-marital relationship with Sookdew for five years prior to the killing.

He said Sookdew knew he was married and that he had two children with his wife.

“She had consistently been pressuring me to come and stay with her at her place and leave my wife. Eventually, I succumbed to her request and went to stay with her. 

“We stayed together without problems. However, on December 21, 2023, while she was at work, I was at home and I discovered four voodoo dolls in her bedroom. This made me feel unpleasant,” he said in his plea.

He said he did not want to stay with Sookdew after he found the voodoo dolls.

“When she came home from work, I began enquiring about what I saw in the bedroom. She became angry and an argument ensued. When I told her that I felt guilty about having left my family, and that I now intended going back to them, she did not take it kindly.

“She started pushing me around … asking me why I gave her false hopes.

“I also pushed her back and we held each other. She was extremely angry and more powerful than I was at that time. I reached for the hammer from my open toolbox and struck her twice on her head,” Naicker added.

He said he became scared when he saw Sookdew bleeding profusely.

“When I noticed that blood abruptly oozed from her head, I became scared and when I eventually checked her pulse, I realised that she had passed away. I then picked up a bin bag and wrapped her body with it so that blood would not spread throughout the house.

“I took her vehicle and went out to various places looking for drugs and imbibed alcohol as well. At some stage, I went back to the filling station where I had failed to pay for the petrol initially. When went back to buy a packet of cigarettes, I was spotted by one of the petrol attendants and was arrested,” Naicker added

He said he felt sorry for what he had done and had confessed to the police.

Legal Aid attorney, Patrick Mkumbuzi, told the court that the investigating officer, W/O Elizabeth Ramrathan, had been consulted with regards to the nature of the offence, Naicker’s personal circumstances, and the interests of the community.

“All roleplayers were consulted with and were afforded the opportunity to make representations to the deputy director regarding the contents and purport of the agreement, including the family of the victim and deceased.

“Naicker pleads guilty to the crime of murder, and admits that he hit her and continued to hit her although he foresaw that she could die as a result of him continuing to strike her.

“He knew that his actions in striking her with a hammer were unlawful, intentional and that he did not have the right to do so,” Mkumbuzi said.

Senior state advocate Denardo McDonald confirmed that Naicker had complied with all the requirements set out to enter into a plea agreement and said the state was satisfied with the plea and sentence agreement.

Judge Mahendra Ramasamy Chetty found Naicker guilty of murder and said the court was satisfied with the agreement.

The Sookdew and Naicker families declined to comment after the case. 

THE POST