DNA-linked 12-year-old rape and murder sentence South Africa
A man in South Africa has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after his DNA profile linked him to a rape and murder committed 12 years ago.
The case involves Shaun Romano Keyser (also reported as “Keyser” in some media), who was convicted by the Oudtshoorn Regional Court for the rape and death of a 55-year-old woman, Anna Abrahams. Her body was discovered in Prince Albert on 11 February 2012 behind a premises selling alcohol; at the time the post-mortem recorded rape and alcohol intoxication as the cause of death.
The breakthrough came when Keyser was arrested on 19 June 2024 in connection with an unrelated theft. A DNA sample taken at that time matched DNA taken from the victim’s body in 2012. Investigators also revisited the post-mortem and concluded that the victim’s extremely high blood-alcohol level would have rendered her unable to give legal consent, and there were signs of asphyxial death (petechial haemorrhages), leading to the determination that the cause of death was murder, not just intoxication.
Keyser confessed in a warning statement, claiming that when the offence occurred he was 16 and was coerced by two older men to commit the act. However, DNA testing excluded those two others and only Keyser’s DNA was found on the victim’s body. The court rejected his version, noting he had provided different versions of the events and did not report the alleged threat-coercion at any point in the intervening 12 years.
The sentence: 10 years direct imprisonment for the rape and a further 10 years direct imprisonment for the culpable homicide (murder) were handed down.
This conviction highlights how advances in DNA forensics and renewed investigation of old, cold cases can bring long-awaited justice. The prosecution praised the investigation team for persistently pursuing the matter despite the long gap between offence and arrest.
