Capetonian Zarah Hector's murderers will have to wait almost two more months before learning their fate.
Ronaldo van Rooyen, 34, and Tawfeeq Ibrahim, 26, were convicted in the Western Cape High Court on May 2 for the murder and aggravated assault of the Kuils River mother.
There was an audible groan from the packed public gallery, where people donned pink T-shirts emblazoned with Hector's face, when Judge Lister Nuku postponed the matter to July 2, when sentencing proceedings will continue.
Advocate Peter Burgers, who represents Van Rooyen, asked the court to postpone the matter to allow the defence to obtain pre-sentencing reports from the social workers tasked with assessing the men's social circumstances.
Fellow defence advocate Wimpie Strauss, for Ibrahim, also requested the postponement.
The State opposed the application, arguing that the two men were able to provide insight into their personal affairs.
Nuku, however, said the reports would provide the court with useful information which may otherwise be left out.
Ahead of proceedings, Van Rooyen sat silently, while Ibrahim spoke softly with family members seated in the gallery directly behind him.
According to a post-mortem report, Hector was bludgeoned to death with a hammer, allegedly in the garage at Van Rooyen’s parents’ home.
Her body was found in March 2016, wrapped in plastic and dumped in the Groot Drakenstein.
Both accused pleaded not guilty and opted not to testify.