Pietermaritzburg serial killer to be sentenced

Convicted serial killer Kershwin Goldstone‚ who strangled and stabbed three elderly people to death‚ is expected to be sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday.

Goldstone‚ 22‚ pleaded guilty to charges of murder‚ aggravated robbery and theft last week. He is alleged to have scaled the walls of the Kenwyn and Jacaranda retirement lodges‚ which lie adjacent to one another in the Pietermaritzburg centre.

Using drain pipes as a foothold‚ he is accused of climbing through windows on the lodges’ upper levels and forcing his way into apartments.

Patricia O’Connor‚ 92‚ was the first to be murdered in her flat in Kenwyn on July 21. She had been strangled to death.

Days later‚ in the Jacaranda Lodge next door‚ 89-year-old Roland Heathcote was stabbed to death and 89-year-old Patricia Tugwell had her throat slit with scissors after Goldstone allegedly forced his way into her room.