Two weeks before he brutally murdered his elderly mother in her own home, a Gqeberha man confessed to police that he had killed his former landlord and that he had thoughts of doing the same to his mother.
Peter Lyons claims his mother’s attitude towards him became increasingly intolerable, so much so that after years of allegedly being humiliated and belittled, he strangled her, suffocated her with a pillow and stood on her chest to make sure she was dead.
The horrific details of how Mabel Lyons, 74, was brutally murdered by her own son after she welcomed him into her house and gave him something to eat, played out in the Gqeberha high court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
But Mabel’s November 28 2019 murder could possibly have been prevented had police acted when Lyons admitted to them that he had murdered his former landlord, Dennis Ogle, 13 years earlier, and that he had murderous thoughts about his mother.
In his plea explanation read out in court by defence advocate Johan van der Spuy, Lyons laid bare his hatred towards his mother, a dislike of homosexuals and battles with addiction.
According to the 53-year-old, his life had been in a shambles for many years and he never felt loved by his mother who he claimed would berate and humiliate him in public.
“As time passed I found my mother’s attitude towards me increasingly intolerable. My life was falling apart.
“I was an alcoholic, unemployed again, my close family and friends did not want contact with me due to me stealing to feed my alcoholism,” Lyons said.
On November 28 2019, Lyons went to his mother’s house after deciding he was going to kill her because he knew her pension money would be available in her bank account the following day, which he would then withdraw and use to buy alcohol.
She gave him food and they watched TV together.
According to Lyons, while there, his mother verbally abused him.
By about 8pm Lyons was fed-up, so he grabbed his mother around the neck and throttled her until she passed out.
“I continued throttling her until she was totally immobile and then dragged her next to her bed to get her out of the view of possible passersby,” he said.
After ensuring the house was locked and curtains drawn, Lyons placed a plastic bag over his mother’s head.
He then put a pillow over her face.
He stood with one foot on her chest to ensure she could not breathe.
After a while, he checked for a pulse to ensure she was dead.
He then ransacked the house and stole various bank cards as well as a set of house keys.
Just after midnight, he went to a nearby ATM and withdrew R1,000 from her bank account which he used to buy alcohol and other items.
Later that day, he reported to the Bethelsdorp police station where he admitted to killing his mother. He was arrested.
Thirteen years earlier Lyons had used a similar technique to murder Ogle.
On March 10 2006, Lyons went to Ogle’s home, where he had previously rented a room, to locate items he had left behind after he was evicted form the premises three weeks earlier.
Lyons and his mother had previously rented a space from Ogle and when his mother moved into her own home, Lyons stayed on.
According to Lyons, after his mother moved out, Ogle, who was apparently homosexual, on numerous occasions made remarks to him which made him feel uncomfortable, and even allegedly touched him inappropriately.
On the day he went there to retrieve his belongings, Ogle allegedly touched Lyons on his buttocks.
Lyons became enraged.
An altercation ensued, with Lyons pushing Ogle against the wall.
Lyons then throttled Ogle until he stopped fighting back.
In his plea, Lyons admitted that he realised at that moment he had gone too far but proceeded to kill Ogle by further throttling him because he was scared of what would happen should he survive.
“For good measure, I then repeatedly punched [Ogle] over his heart to make sure he was dead,” Lyons said.
After Ogle’s body was found, Lyons was interviewed by the police.
He admitted that he had lied to the police in his statement at the time. The case was not taken any further.
On November 12 2019, Lyons, apparently feeling guilty, reported to the police that he had murdered Ogle but due to the length of time that had passed, the police were unable to locate the docket and he was not arrested.
Judge Jannie Eksteen convicted Lyons on all three counts.
He will be sentenced on Wednesday.
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