Justice For Josh #J4J

11/02/2024

This is the latest WhatsApp profile picture of the person who shot our son, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend dead. He got away with a suspended sentence and some community service. He was put under house arrest at his sisters house in Durban. It looks like she has not had such a stabilising influence. Once a killer always a killer.

10/09/2023

Justice Denied

On Thursday the 7th September 2023 the person who shot and killed Josh was sentenced. Magistrate Adriaan Bekker mentioned in his sentence that the accused had behavioral problems for years and that he showed no real remorse for his actions, he mentioned that the accused had been expelled from two schools and the impact that Josh’s death has had on our lives.
He sentenced the killer to corrective supervision (house arrest) for 24 months. The house where he will sit out this luxurious sentence is in Durban. He is allowed to go out between the hours of 06:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday and has to complete a few courses and do 16 hours of community service a month.
The killer will be living with his sister and brother in-law. The brother in-law works in the security industry and owns a 9mm pistol and a nearly identical shotgun to what was used to shoot Josh. The magistrate was made aware of the fact that there are fi****ms in the home.
Magistrate Bekker never took the state social workers report into account and disregarded that she had said the accused should serve prison time. He instead used the report of the private paid social worker the accused’s family had hired. Her report was riddled with lies and when called out on it by the prosecutor was allowed by the court to submit a new report. The accused lied to the social worker and this was proved in court with evidence that was not challenged by the defense lawyer. Bekker still never took this into account.
For illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition he will serve wholly suspended sentences.
Although the state say he will be monitored we know in South Africa this will not really happen, he is going to be able to do whatever he wants and whenever he pleases.
The mother of the accused was interviewed by a journalist shortly after the sentencing and said “I am so thankful that this is over, I can breathe now”, “he cant handle it. At 19 he is still my baby” and “I lost my son, but he will come back to me now”. This is the same mother who lied in her statement to the police saying that she didn’t even know there were fi****ms in her house. This is the same mother that never bothered to phone emergency services or police on that fateful day and left Josh to die all alone. The same mother that failed to tell the police that there were witnesses there that day. She knew exactly what her son was capable of and did nothing to rectify his behavior even after being told by a private school that he required intense therapy. She knows exactly what happened that day but not once has she been truthful.
The killer will now be living in a community who know nothing about him and certainly won’t know that he is a danger to society.
Magistrate Bekker has now set a precedent in South Africa that if you are a minor and be in unlawful possession of a firearm and then use that firearm to shoot and kill, you will get off with a slap on the wrist. When he was reading out the sentence he said in South Africa when sentencing is to light communities tend to take justice into their own hands, now we know why there are so many vigilantes in the country.
We are not allowed to publish their names, this is another sick law in this country that protects the evil monters that did this to Josh. Many of you know exactly who they are so please share this far and wide, let your family and friends know who they are, warn them to stay away from these monsters especially if they have teenage sons. He is now in a house with guns that he will be able to access just like he did before. We can’t bring Josh back but we can warn others and hopefully save another innocent child.
They might have won this fight but the WAR is not over!
Both the SAPS and the judiciary have failed Josh. THIS IS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE!

05/09/2023

On Thursday the 7th September the person who shot and killed Josh WILL be sentenced. The state prosecutor along with our watching brief attorney have done their best, so we are praying for some form of custodial sentence.
We know that the accused and his family lied right through the trial and can prove that there was perjury committed. Next week we are meeting with a General in the police to discuss the complaint against the initial detective, it has been 2.5 years since the complaint was lodged and still nothing has happened. We will also discuss the perjury charges with him along with opening of a new case against the person we now believe to have owned the second missing shotgun.
We will leave no stone unturned until the entire truth has been told and everyone who is responsible for Josh's death is brought before a court of law.
For forgiveness there has to be redemption and for redemption there has to be truth.

20/08/2023

Good Things Guy

While exploring Sun City this weekend, I found a plaque - the only one of its kind in the ENTIRE Valley of the Waves - on one of the islands.
The universe has a magical way of connecting us - strangers - with incredibly powerful stories and as luck would have it, the family the plaque was made for were here this weekend!!!!
This is the story about the only plaque in the whole of the Valley of the Waves.
Get the tissues ready friends:

Amidst tragedy, the heartwarming tale of Josh Edwards' memorial plaque at Sun City's Valley of the Waves showcases the enduring power of kindness

20/07/2023

The social worker mentioned in the article below is the same social worker that testified in Josh's case. She was paid by the defense. She clearly does not think anyone that has been found guilty of a crime should go to prison.

https://www.algoafm.co.za/domestic/randfontein-rapist-too-ill-for-prison-social-worker

17/07/2023

Beeld Newspaper article published 17 July (Hanti Otto)

https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/nuus/hof/stryd-in-hof-oor-vonnis-vir-joshua-16-se-skieter-20230716

14/07/2023

News 24 Article on todays court proceedings.

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/teen-who-shot-and-killed-16-year-old-joshua-edwards-showed-no-remorse-for-his-actions-state-20230714

13/07/2023

It has been just over two and a half years since Josh passed away. Tomorrow (14 July) the heads of arguments for sentencing will be put forward to the court. We have faith in the prosecutor. We can only pray and hope that the magistrate has picked up on all lies from the accused and his family. The accused deserves to be imprisoned for what he did to Josh, he is a danger to society and if he is not given a custodial sentence could harm or kill another innocent victim. Throughout the trial he showed no remorse and from witness testimonies he has no respect for authority and takes no accountability for his actions. We also now believe we know who owns the missing shotgun and can only hope that the SAPS take this information seriously.
Never underestimate someone’s ability to find out the truth!

14/06/2023

Update of Court Proceedings 8th June 2023

On the 8th June the defence attorney for the accused indicated that he would not be calling any further witnesses. His last witness called was the private social worker his client had hired to do a pre-sentencing report as they were not happy with the state social workers report which recommended imprisonment. Since she testified, we have received the transcripts and there were a couple of things that stood out.
She recommended that the accused is suitable for house arrest. The accused currently lives with his sister and brother in-law. The prosecutor asked her if she knows if there are fi****ms in the house where he is living, she stated that there are no fi****ms. We are aware as we have checked and the brother in-law is the owner of two fi****ms, one of them a shotgun very similar to that of the accused’s father. She either did not ask the question or the accused’s sister lied to her. If the accused was placed under house arrest at his sister’s house what is to stop him from again stealing a firearm and shooting another innocent person. The correctional services official who was tasked with inspecting the house also did not think it was necessary to check if there were fi****ms kept in the house.
The second thing that stood out was when the private social worker was arguing that the accused was not ill-disciplined.
Private Social Worker: “in my field ill-discipline is getting involved in criminal activities”
Prosecutor: “like stealing your father’s gun from its safe and exposing people whilst you know full well the safety measures applicable to fi****ms. Exposing on numerous occasions, people to these fi****ms that he unlawfully had in his possession. Is that not criminal in your mind?
Private Social Worker: “That is ill-discipline”
Prosecutor: “Not Criminal?”
Private Social Worker: “Not in South Africa, not where we live, not where they live.”
The private social worker believes it is not CRIMINAL to steal fi****ms in South Africa.
In her report she also said that the accused had told her he had never experimented with any illegal substances.
The first state witness on the 8th stated that the accused had smoked ma*****na with him and had come to school high before departing for a rugby tour. He also received WhatsApp messages from the accused with a drug price list. This evidence was important to prove that the accused had not been truthful with the private social worker.
The second state witness was a teacher from the school the accused attended before enrolling at Josh’s school. She stated that the accused had several behaviour incidents whilst at the school and his parents were called in on more than one occasion to discuss his behaviour. One of the incidents that stood out was when the class were given a baby doll which they had to look after as if its was a live baby for several days, the accused put drawing pins in the eyes and mouth of the baby. The teacher found this very disturbing. This teacher was also part of the disciplinary hearing of the accused, the outcome was that his contract would not be renewed the following year.
The third state witness was also a teacher of the accused in grade 8 and grade 9. She stated that the accused took no accountability for his bad behaviour and was arrogant. She said the accused would often boast at school about having access to fi****ms at home at was allowed to shoot whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. She raised this with the principal and said she did not feel safe in the accused’s presence and that he was dangerous. She said if there was ever a kid that would have brought a gun to school it would have been the accused.

There is a pattern of ill-discipline with the accused, and he has not taken any accountability for his actions and showed no remorse. He was told he could not return to two private schools. The private schools do not do any checks or request any previous school records, had this been done the accused most likely would not have ended up in Josh’s school and Josh would have been alive today!
There are no more witnesses to be called, the prosecutor requested a postponement so that she can prepare her closing arguments in detail. The case will resume on the 14th July 2023
We also now believe we know who owns the missing shotgun, we can only hope the SAPS will take this information seriously. We believe the owner of this shotgun removed it from the scene on the day of the shooting.
We want to change the way private schools admit pupils without doing checks with the previous school, parents of kids at private schools have a false sense of security thinking that their kids are safe, in all private schools there are potentially drug dealers, sexual predators and in our case a KILLER mixing with innocent children. This needs to change before another life is lost.

09/06/2023

Podcast of interview with Bongani Bingwa on his 702 Breakfast Show (9 June 2023)

A family’s journey to get justice for son’s death.

Tim Edwards discusses the quest for justice after his son Josh was shot dead by a classmate two and a half years ago, dealing with loss, and the need for schools to conduct background checks on youngsters who may have had a troublesome history.

https://omny.fm/shows/the-breakfast-show-702/a-family-s-journey-to-get-justice-for-son-s-death