WATCH | 4 times murderers were caught and convicted

From shortly after 9am on Tuesday‚ South Africans were given stark statistical information on which crimes are on the increase‚ which are on the decrease‚ and in which areas are hit worst by the various crimes. TimesLive has compiled a list of four cases where murderers were caught and brought to justice:

1. Triple axe murder trial: The Van Breda case

Judge Siraj Desai said Henri van Breda was a cold-blooded‚ savage and cruel killer who must spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Sentencing van Breda to three life terms for the murders of his parents‚ Martin and Teresa‚ and elder brother Rudi‚ Desai told the High Court in Cape Town that Van Breda had offered no explanation for his crimes.

Judge Siraj Desai sentenced Van Breda to 15 years in prison for the attempted murder of his sister‚ Marli‚ and 12 months for obstructing the ends of justice by attempting to cover up his crimes.

After sentencing‚ he was led out of court in handcuffs by police officers. He showed no emotion as Desai read out his sentencing remarks.

2. Toxic love: Karabo Mokoena murder

Sandile Mantsoe‚ was convicted for murdering and burning the remains of his girlfriend Karabo Mokoena.

Mokoena’s remains were discovered in a ditch in Lyndhurst‚ burnt beyond recognition. Mantsoe initially denied seeing her‚ but later confessed to police that he had returned home and found Mokoena dead in his flat.

3. Killer husband: Jayde Panayiotou murder

Christopher Panayiotou was sentenced to life behind bars in the Port Elizabeth High Court for the murder of his wife, Jayde.

The Uitenhage teacher‚ 29‚ went missing from outside her home in Kabega Park‚ Port Elizabeth‚ on April 21 2015. Her body was found in KwaNobuhle the next day.

4. Murder in Cape Town: The death of Gabriela Alban

Guatemalan Diego Novella was convicted of murdering his American girlfriend, Gabriela Kabrins Alban at the Camps Bay Retreat boutique hotel in July 2015. 

Novella and Alban had been a couple at the time of her murder. Alban was strangled and sustained blunt force trauma to the face.