Murderers of five-year-old Valentino Grootetjie sentenced to life in prison
Valentino Grootetjie's parents are grateful justice has finally been served, but his mother says, 'I will cry for the rest of my life.'
Valentino Grootetjie would have turned 11 on 22 June 2025. But instead of planning a birthday party, his parents are organising a bittersweet memorial to their son, who was gunned down in 2019 while he was playing with his younger brother in the yard of their Lavender Hill home. He was five years old at the time.
More than five years later, after a trial lasting almost two months, and the ordeal his parents have endured each day in court, reliving and testifying to the horror of that day, Valentino's killers are finally facing the consequences of their crime.
On Tuesday, 17 June, the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town sentenced Carlo Hofmeester and Chadwin Isaacs to life imprisonment for Valentino's murder.
In addition, the court sentenced each to five years for contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998, and a total of 90 years – 10 years per count – for the attempted murders of Wesley Kok, Olivia Stevens, Natasha Daniels, Leticia Barnes, Crystal Joseph, Derrick Strydom, Gershwin Baars, Brandon Coetzee and Dillon Wentzel.
They were also sentenced to five years each for two counts of illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently.
Before passing sentence, Judge Melanie Holderness stated that she had assessed 'all mitigating and aggravating factors' of the case. Both Hofmeester and Isaacs had been raised in an environment of historical dispossession and displacement, where drugs and crime prevail, and the lure of the street gang 'family' beckons loudly to youths desperate for a sense of belonging.
She acknowledged that they had been incarcerated for more than five years without bail, had finally admitted, prior to sentencing, to their involvement, and had apologised to the Grootetjie family, as well as the nine witnesses they were convicted of attempting to murder. But the aggravating circumstances far outweighed the factors in mitigation.
State Advocate Leon Snyman proved that the accused were members of the Fast Guns gang who were engaged in drug turf wars with the Mongrels Gang in Lavender Hill and surrounding areas.
Multiple shots
On 21 December 2019, in pursuit of a member of the Mongrels, both accused had consecutively fired multiple times into the yard of 37 Drury Lane, where Valentino was playing. In broad daylight and in plain sight, they had fatally shot the five-year-old in the back of his head, in 'an act of random and unfathomable violence', said Judge Holderness.
Hofmeester and Isaacs claimed they fired only once, but evidence showed at least six shots were fired by each accused. In sentencing, Judge Holderness agreed with the State that the accused did not show remorse, failed to take the court into their confidence and downplayed the seriousness of the offences, as they had appeared 'bored' during the trial.
There were therefore no substantial and compelling circumstances which allowed the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment. The court concluded they had refused to take responsibility or acknowledge the impact of their crimes.
They had further perjured themselves with the 'clear intention of misleading the court'. Their conduct had augmented the 'inconceivable anguish' of Valentino's parents at losing a child 'under such violent conditions'.
In their Victim Impact Statements, Valentino's parents, Patrick Kotze and Romana Grootetjie, both described the horror of witnessing their five-year-old son – the eldest of three – 'lying in a pool of blood'.
'We live in a violent ghetto,' reflected Valentino's father, Kotze. 'But our child was not even safe in his own home.'
During the sentencing, the small courtroom was filled with the families of both victims and perpetrators – in stark contrast to the empty courtroom Valentino's parents had attended daily during the trial.
Judge Holderness praised their dedication and Kotze's courageous testimony. She also commended Sergeant Siyasanga Mapukata for conducting an exemplary investigation into Valentino's murder.
Now that the sentence has been passed, Valentino's parents are desperate for healing. They plan to marry on Valentino's birthday – as a gesture of love and joy, amid their grief and loss.
It's what Valentino would have wanted, they say. But the residual trauma remains. After Valentino's murder, his father lost his job. The family is now destitute and Valentino's mother, Romana Grootetjie, suffers from severe post-traumatic stress.
'I am grateful that justice has been done and for the support we received from advocate [Leon] Snyman and Sergeant Mapukata,' she said after the sentencing. 'But the hole in our hearts will never heal. I cry for Valentino every day and I will cry for the rest of my life.' DM
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