Corrine Jackson, accused of attempting to cut off girlfriend’s head, discusses possible plea bargain
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Murder accused Corrine Jackson. FILE
Cape Town - The trial of Corrine Jackson, accused of murdering her estranged girlfriend by allegedly attempting to cut off her head, has taken a different turn with a possible plea bargain on the table.
Jackson made an appearance at the Mitchells Plain Regional Court yesterday where she is facing charges of murder, assault and contravention of a protection order relating to her estranged girlfriend, Nadine Esterhuizen, 18.
Esterhuizen had been in matric at Athlone High School and had ended her relationship with Jackson soon after she opened a case of assault against her.
But proceedings were placed on hold during the day for the State to call Esterhuizen’s mother, Vanessa Esterhuizen, who had been at work at the time.
Esterhuizen was subpoenaed to appear in court and the State revealed that they were discussing a possible plea bargain with Jackson.
The case has been hit with several delays in the past five years, with Jackson seeking medical help at psychiatric and psychology facilities, including for being ill with Covid-19, and changing her legal representation.
Jackson has since been deemed fit to stand trial.
The matter was postponed to July 22 for the outcome of the discussion on the plea bargain.
Vanessa told the Weekend Argus she was preparing to meet with the State today to discuss the way forward.
“I was called from work (on Tuesday) and I was so confused,” said Vanessa, after attending court on Tuesday.
“When I met with the lawyer, Nadine’s photographs fell out of the files and I burst into tears.”
Vanessa is unable to discuss the plea options with the media as these form part of the court case and decisions which will be made.
A few weeks ago, a new prosecutor was assigned to the case.
Linda Jones, a court watch and member of Mitchells Plain Resident’s Association, who has been present at every appearance, said the community wanted a sentence that would suit the crime as the victim was never given a chance during her murder as Jackson is being afforded now.
She added that the family needed closure and justice.
“Yes me, I think she is thinking of a very lenient time, but on the other hand, her lawyer knows the plea, so yes, the spider web has reached a full circle with no way out but to stay in the centre,” said Jones.
“I am very happy for the family that all the delay tactics will be something of the past and that they can finally get time to make peace. Even though it will never bring complete closure or satisfaction, it is a small consolation
“No sentence can ever justify or even come close to get in range to where we as the community can say ‘she got what she deserves’, not years nor life in prison, just to think how “she slaughtered the deceased was just plain evil. The only punishment would be in the same manner the decease suffered at her hands, she had to suffer. Unfortunately she gets the better deal with our justice system to decide her fate, which the deceased was not afforded.
“I am sure she begged her to stop and show her mercy, but the evil within her never thought of showing mercy to this human being whom she claimed to love. How does one react or is one expected to react with mercy? Only God knows.”
During the first bail hearing, Jackson claimed she had acted in self-defence and gave a blow-by-blow account of her version before the court.
The police who took the stand said the wounds on Jackson’s body were self-inflicted and that she had been placed on suicide watch, and that she needed to be on medication due to anger outbursts.
The first bail hearing took place in 2017, where she had been denied her freedom by a magistrate, and in June 2018 she took her application to the Cape High Court, where she was granted R5 000 bail.
At the time, she was a client of seasoned legal eagle, advocate William Booth.
Bail conditions prohibited her from entering Mitchells Plain and she was required to live in Stellenbosch.
She later made an additional application for her conditions to be relaxed to allow her to be moved back to Mitchells Plain.
Jackson is facing a Schedule 6 offence and the State is set to prove that she had planned the murder of her girlfriend in September 2017 in Colorado Park in Mitchells Plain.
Esterhuizen was stabbed 21 times and her killer attempted to cut off her head.
Jackson was found in a locked bathroom with two daggers and had wounds to her body.
She also told the court at the time that she had a fetish for daggers and swords.
Jackson also faces a charge of assault and contravening a protection order due to incidents allegedly linked to Esterhuizen.
She is believed to have cracked Esterhuizen’s skull and thrown her cellphone into the sea in 2017.
She is also facing a separate charge of common assault for an alleged incident earlier this year, in the district of Cape Town, involving her new girlfriend’s mother.
There were also claims that she had allegedly tried to drown and torture a cat at the same scene, but charges were not added to the rap sheet.