Student who was gang-raped and killed in South Africa pleaded with her kidnappers to let her go

Hannah Cornelius allegedly pleaded with her kidnappers to free her after they had raped her outside Stellenbosch near Cape Town. Photo / Supplied

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A man who admitted to gang-raping and murdering a university student in South Africa has revealed she bargained with her attackers in a desperate bid for survival.

Hannah Cornelius, 21, was carjacked by four men while dropping off fellow student Cheslin Marsh, 22, at his home in Stellenbosch, west of Cape Town, after a night out in May 2017.

One of her attackers claimed she told the gang they could have sex with her as long as they let her go afterwards, reports Daily Mail.

The men allegedly robbed and assaulted Mr Marsh and left him for dead before brutally raping Ms Cornelius.

They are accused of stabbing her in the neck and crushing her skull with a rock after she refused to get out of the car boot.

Geraldo Parsons, 27, broke down in tears at Western Cape Court today as he went from pleading not guilty to confessing to the crime and implicating his co-accused.

Geraldo Parsons, 27, second from right, broke down in tears at Western Cape Court today, as he admitted to raping and murdering Ms Cornelius. Photo / Supplied

A weeping Parsons told the court he had not wanted to rape Ms Cornelius as he had a girlfriend and young children, but that he "did it anyway".

Parsons and three other men - Vernon Witbooi, 33, Nashville Julius, 29, and Eben van Niekerk, 28 - face a string of charges including murder, kidnap, robbery and rape.

Parsons told the court the quartet had only intended on stealing Ms Cornelius' car after spotting it outside Mr Marsh's block of flats and that the incident spiralled after they saw the two students still inside.

"Vernon said Hannah said we can have sex with her but then we must leave her after that," Parsons said according to Times Live, describing the look of terror in Ms Cornelius' eyes.

Hannah Cornelius, 21, was raped and murdered in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Photo / Supplied

He described how he was the first to rape Ms Cornelius, before Witbooi and then van Niekerk.

He claims he told Witbooi to release Ms Cornelius afterwards, but instead, the group threw the 21-year-old in the boot of her own car, and drove to a nearby vineyard.

"She didn't want to climb out of the boot. She was holding on to the car. She started panicking. Eben came up and stabbed her. I let her go as the blood started to spill."

"Then I saw Vernon arrive with a rock. I told Vernon 'don't kill her, we've already killed Cheslin, let's leave her'. But Vernon threw the rock on Hannah's head."

Last week, state pathologist Dr Deidre Abrahams told the court that the violence against her skull was so brutal it would have killed her instantly.

"The skull is made of very strong bones. It is not easy for a skull to break or crack, unless a lot of power is used to break the skull," state pathologist Dr Deidre Abrahams told Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

Four men Vernon Witbooi, 33, Geraldo Parsons, 27, Nashville Julius, 29, and Eben van Niekerk, 28, face a string of charges including murder, kidnap, robbery and rape. Photo / Supplied

Describing the sexual assault, Dr Abrahams told the court it "would have been a very painful experience to the person," according to News24.

Both the trauma to the head and the stab-wound in Ms Cornelius' neck were fatal.

However Dr Abrahams concluded that the blunt violence which cracked her skull is the most likely cause of death.

Prosecutors claim the four men surrounded Ms Cornelius' VW Golf, put a screwdriver to her chest through the open window and put a knife to the back of Mr Marsh and threatened to kill him.

Mr Marsh was robbed of cash and his phone and locked in the car boot and then the four men drove to a drug dealer's home to buy drugs and smoked crystal meth.

Ms Cornelius was ordered into the back seat before they drove out of Stellenbosch and pulled over near a local vineyard.

Cornelius and Marsh were chatting in a blue Volkswagen Citi Golf (pictured right during the subsequent police chase of the killers) when they were approached by four men. Photo / Supplied

They reportedly dragged Mr Marsh out of the boot and made him lay his head on a rock on the ground before battering his skull with bricks until they thought he was dead.

Mr Marsh recovered consciousness the following day, and staggered to a nearby home suffering severe head injuries and a broken arm to raise the alarm about Ms Cornelius.

Unknown to him her body had been found earlier several miles away dumped by the roadside and a huge police search was already underway for him and the gang.

Ms Cornelius, the daughter of a local magistrate Willem Cornelius and his late lawyer wife Anna, was described as a "brilliant student".

She was in her second year at Stellenbosch University studying for a BA in Humanities when she was gang raped and murdered.

Distraught fellow student Mr Marsh broke down in tears repeatedly as he told how they were hijacked and he was locked in the boot while Hannah was kept inside the car.

Ms Cornelius was dragged from her car and raped by at least three of the men, before they stabbed her in the neck and crushed her skull with a large rock. Photo / Supplied

He said they had been out for a few drinks and to a dance and said he was going to use his skateboard to get home but Hannah insisted on driving him in case he was robbed.

Mr Marsh said when they pulled up the gang pounced threatening to stab Hannah to death with a sharpened screwdriver and him to death with a knife placed at his back.

He described how they were driven to a suburb of Cape Town called Kraaifontein, some 11 miles from where they were hijacked in Stellenbosch and he was pulled from the car boot.

He said: "I lay down on the ground as they told me and put my head on a rock. I closed my eyes and I prayed. The two men were standing over me with bricks in their hands.

"I lost consciousness and when I woke I was in horrible pain, everywhere pain. When I last heard Hannah talking her voice was very soft and I could tell she was scared".

Three men made Mr Marsh (pictured after) put his head on a rock then battered his skull with house bricks until they thought he was dead. Photo / Supplied

He managed to stagger to a nearby house covered in blood and raise the alarm.

Mr Marsh was so traumatised he never returned to his studies and is now deaf in one ear as a result of his injuries and vivid scars could be seen on his head as he gave evidence.

After the rape and murder of Ms Cornelius, the gang went on a robbery spree in the hijacked car robbing at least three women before the stolen car was spotted and a high speed police chase began.

Three were arrested after dumping the car and fleeing and the fourth was arrested later.