IF THE State has its way, convicted child killer Wendy Manthe will go to jail for 25 years for murdering her two daughters.

Her defence has called for a more lenient sentence of no more than 18 years for a crime that sent shockwaves throughout South Africa.

Judge Jeremy Pickering has postponed sentencing until September 21.

In her closing argument yesterday, senior prosecutor Indra Goberdan said that although Manthe might have had diminished responsibility at the time of the murders, they were “carefully planned and viciously executed”.

“They were not carried out on the spur of the moment, nor were they the product of an unstoppable rage,” Goberdan said as Manthe listened in the dock with her head in her hands.

Describing the attack on Morgan, 9, and Willow, 7, as “brutal and cruel”, she recounted how Manthe had lied to her children and “lured” them to the beach “under the pretext they were bunking and were going to spend quality time together” before giving them (Phenergan) tablets which made them feel sick.

She said Manthe then killed her children with her bare hands.

“After murdering Willow by suffocating her, she tied a rope around Morgan’s neck and strangled her, watching while her children fought frantically to hold on to dear life.”

Morgan’s death would have been even worse than Willow’s, Goberdan said.

“She (Morgan) had to watch in horror as her mother cut her wrists in front of her and she begged her mother not to hurt her. She had a sense she was going to be killed and asked to phone her mom’s friend, asking her to come to the beach ... this was her final plea for help.

“The utter anguish, fear and horror this child must have felt before her mother put the rope around her neck and tightened it, robbing her of life, is enough to send chills down one’s spine.

“Morgan obediently drank the Phenergan tablets her mother gave her believing them to be vitamins. Little did poor Morgan know that her mom was slowly killing her sister and her.”

Goberdan said Manthe had purposefully planned the murders of her “innocent, harmless and unarmed” children by writing two suicide notes, borrowing money to obtain tablets, buying the children picnic “goodies” and blades to slit her own wrists, and driving to a secluded beach so that she would not be disturbed.

“Her goal-directed behaviour before, during and after the incident in question would indicate her presence of mind and her intention to commit this violent behaviour.”

The fact that Manthe had pleaded guilty should not be regarded as a mitigating factor, Goberdan said. “The accused had little choice but to plead guilty as she was caught with her murdered children in her bakkie.”

Goberdan said Manthe had had options regarding the wellbeing of her children should she have gone to jail for her theft conviction, but that she had simply not liked any of them.

“She had options, it was just that they were not the options that she favoured and for those selfish reasons she decided to take their lives ... it had to be everything or nothing.”

The prosecution said the court would fail the community if it did not make it clear to Manthe that her children were not her property to do with as she pleased.

Calling for a sentence of no more than 18 years, the defence said Manthe’s state of mind was severely affected at the time of the murders and she had shown genuine remorse.

On the day of the murders, Vuyani Magqabi said, she was convinced she was going to jail. “She was so distraught with grief because she lost the dearest souls in her life and she will have to live with that guilt – that is punishment in itself,” he said.

He asked the justice system to show her mercy “even though none was shown by her”.