Murderer Flavio Hlabangwane to wait another month to learn his fate

10 February 2023 - 12:00
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Flavio Hlabangwane keeps his head down in court.
Flavio Hlabangwane keeps his head down in court.
Image: Khanyisile Ngcobo

Convicted murderer Flavio Hlabangwane will have to wait another month to learn his fate after his trial was postponed on Friday.

The Johannesburg high court last week found Hlabangwane, 28, guilty of murder, defeating the ends of justice and violating a corpse.

He was arrested in November 2021 after body parts of his girlfriend Tshepang Pitse were found in his fridge. The discovery was made by his new girlfriend who raised the alarm with neighbours and police.

Hlabangwane confessed to killing Pitse, saying he plotted to do so after discovering she had been unfaithful to him.

TimesLIVE understands Pitse and Hlabangwane were related. 

After a brief back-and-forth between the state and defence, judge Cassim Ismail Moosa postponed the matter to March 22 for pre-sentencing. This is to allow probation officers time to prepare their reports and finish interviewing Hlabangwane's family as well as that of the victim.

If the evidence is ready on that day, the sentence will probably be handed down the same week, Moosa said.

Hlabangwane, wearing a green check shirt and sporting dreadlocks, mostly kept his head down during proceedings. 

TimesLIVE

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