Two men found guilty of killing a 75-year-old woman and her 35-year-old son have been handed down two life sentences each.
Thabani Lushaba, 24, and Samkelo Bhengu, 23, were sentenced to two life sentences in the Pietermaritzburg high court for the murders of Doris Ntozakhe and her son Sfiso in Gamalakhe, on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) south coast, in February.
Lushaba was sentenced on March 14 and Bhengu was sentenced on March 20. Both men were also sentenced to 15 years each for robbery.
It is understood that Sfiso had worked as an interpreter on a popular local soapie.
The deaths were discovered after a neighbour reported a foul smell emanating from the Ntozakhe home to police.
"She said there was no response when she called out. Police went to the property and discovered that the premises was secured,” said KZN police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele.
"They then discovered the mother and son lying in the bathroom. Some items were missing from the property, such as a car which had been parked in the yard, a flat-screen TV and other belongings.”
At the time Mbele said the car was recovered in Esikhaleni near Empangeni, on the KZN north coast, before police arrested three men - two for murder and robbery and the third man for possession of the stolen vehicle.
The third man will appear again in court on March 25.
