The facts of the case in Casey v The Master, an important case in the South African law of succession, the deceased and her husband were married in community of property and had a joint will, whereby both spouses bequeathed their half of the joint estate to each other. Being safety-conscious, each night the deceased's husband slept with a loaded revolver under his pillow. One night the revolver accidentally went off while the couple was sleeping; the bullet struck the deceased, who subsequently died. The deceased's husband was convicted of culpable homicide.Casey No v The Master and Others 1992 (4) SA 505 (N)
The legal question arose of whether or not someone who negligently killed another may inherit in terms of the deceased's will. The court found that the answer was 'no'.
In general terms anyone may benefit from a will, however, an exception is made in the Roman-Dutch law: the court held that the bloedige hand rule,bloedige hand principle at papers.ssrn.com. which means that no one may benefit from the death of their own victim,Klein and Viljoen. Beginner's Guide for Law Students. Juta. Third Edition. 2002. Page 82. See also the Fourth Edition. still applies and has not become obsolete by disuse. Accordingly, the deceased's husband was not allowed to inherit but could take half of the common estate in terms of the matrimonial property law.
See also South African law of succession
References Casey No v The Master and Others 1992 (4) SA 505 (N). Klein and Viljoen. Beginner's Guide for Law Students. Juta. Third Edition. 2002. Pages 75 and 81. See also pages 67 and 68. Fourth Edition. 2010. See pages relating to the bloedige hand.
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