GQEBERHA – An Eastern Cape man, Maurice Butlion, 35, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his 65-year-old mother, Sharon-Ann Butlion. The gruesome details of the crime emerged in the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha on Tuesday, where Butlion pleaded guilty to murder, arson, defeating the ends of justice, and contravening the prohibition of the abuse of elder persons.
The court heard how Butlion stabbed his mother repeatedly, the knife breaking during the attack, before setting their shared flat alight and leaving her to burn.
The sentencing followed a plea agreement with the State. Butlion received a life sentence for murder, with concurrent sentences of 10 years each for defeating the ends of justice and contravening the prohibition of the abuse of elder persons, and a further seven years for arson.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed the sentencing, stating: "He pleaded guilty. He got life for murder, 10 years for arson, 10 years defeating the ends of justice, and 10 years for abusing an elderly person."
The incident occurred in September 2022. Emergency services discovered Sharon-Ann's partially burnt body behind the locked bedroom door of her Fernkloof apartment in Central Gqeberha. The flat was ablaze, and she suffered multiple stab and burn wounds. Butlion was arrested shortly afterwards.
In a statement read by his lawyer, advocate Johan van der Spuy, Butlion detailed the events leading up to the murder. He described experiencing mental health challenges exacerbated by job loss during the Covid-19 pandemic and his mother's cancer diagnosis and subsequent illness, including chemotherapy. These factors, he said, led to significant financial difficulties.
"My mother was very ill with cancer and was receiving chemotherapy. We were in financial ruin with no way out being apparent. I had no hope left, and I decided to end it all. I came to the conclusion that the only way out was to kill my mother and then kill myself as my mother and I couldn't live like this," Butlion stated in his plea.
He explained that family disputes over their financial situation, compounded by his brother's unhappiness about providing financial assistance, were frequent and intense. He described a prolonged internal struggle before finally deciding to act.
"The whole night, I fought a mental battle with myself. I knew what I wanted to do was legally and morally wrong, but I saw no way out. On a couple of occasions, I decided that I was going to continue with this absurd plan, only to convince myself moments later that I could not and should not do it. At about 05:00 on the morning of 13 September 2022, I finally decided that I was going to carry out this plan," he recounted.
Butlion retrieved a carving knife from the kitchen and went to his mother's bedroom. He stabbed her repeatedly in the head and face while she slept. Sharon-Ann briefly resisted, but Butlion continued his attack until the knife broke.
"The knife broke and I got cut on the outside of my right hand. I stabbed her a couple more times with the remaining portion and then threw the knife aside. I picked up the car and flat keys, then set a long-sleeved shirt alight in my cupboard and the duvet on my bed. On my way out of the flat, I also set the tablecloth on the dining room table alight. I locked the Trellidoor but left the flat door open. I got into the car and drove away," he admitted.
His initial plan was to kill himself, but the broken knife thwarted this. He spent the following 24 hours sleeping in bushes in Walmer township before his arrest at a petrol station. He detailed his actions after the murder: "At that stage, I had no plan for how to continue further or what to do next. I had never thought my own suicide through properly and I was shocked by what I had done. I had no backup plan," he said.
He also admitted to going to different shops to buy cigarettes and chips before trying to find a friend.
In his plea, Butlion acknowledged his mother's innocence and expressed remorse.
"I take full responsibility for my actions. I cannot blame anyone for what I had done to my mother and my family. I would like to apologise to my family, my brother and sister, our loved ones, and society for what I had done to my mother. My actions were selfish, ill-considered, and totally misguided," he stated.
The court accepted his plea, and the sentencing was handed down.
