- Anisha and Joey van Niekerk were raped and killed in December 2017.
- They were burnt beyond recognition next to a river.
- The accused faced several charges including defeating the ends of justice.
Three men and one woman accused of killing, raping, and kidnapping a same-sex couple who owned a farm in Mooinooi, near Brits, North West, have been sentenced to 12 life terms and 187 years imprisonment.
Aaron James Sithole, 37, Jack Chikinya Sithole, 21, Alex Modau, 39, and Mercia Strydom, 24, were found guilty on multiple charges including murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, theft, defeating the ends of justice, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed the sentence.
On 10 December 2017 Jacobus Petrus Strydom and his wife, Mercia, tricked the couple, Anisha and Joey van Niekerk, into going to the farm to sign an offer to purchase, NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said in a statement.
Mahanjana said the Strydoms were leasing a portion of the plot owned by the Van Niekerks, and had said they wished to buy it.
"Upon their arrival, the Van Niekerks were coerced into signing the contract, assaulted, raped, and killed with the assistance of the Sitholes and Modau. Their bodies were taken to a nearby river and burnt beyond recognition," she said.
READ | 4 convicted for murder of Mooinooi same-sex couple whose bodies were burnt beyond recognition
Mahanjana said state prosecutor, advocate Juliet Makgwatha, in her closing arguments, asked the court to reflect on the feelings of the families when delivering the sentence, saying burning their bodies did not only defeat the ends of justice, but denied their families the closure of paying their last respects.
The State also argued that the Strydoms' greed motivated them to commit the offences and that the killings were premeditated.
News24 sister publication Netwerk24 reported in 2018 that the State had argued that before the couple was murdered, they were robbed of their vehicle, which was later burnt.
ALSO READ | Mooinooi murders 'mastermind' Koos Strydom dead
They were also forced to disclose the PIN numbers of their bank cards and thousands of rands were withdrawn from Joey's account on 11 and 12 December, while R800 was withdrawn from Anisha's on 12 December.
Remains of Anisha's body were found, but the cause of her death could not be ascertained. Joey's body was never found, Netwerk24 reported.
News24 reported last year that Koos Strydom, the man who was believed to had been the mastermind behind the killings allegedly killed himself, according to IOL.
He was reportedly found unconscious in his single cell at Kgosi Mampuru 111 prison in Pretoria.
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