Soshanguve couple found guilty of killing wife's ex-lover

A Soshanguve couple have been found guilty of murdering the wife's ex-boyfriend, burning his body and later claiming more than R500,000 from life insurance.

Lerato Mahlangu and her husband Sibusiso were convicted on Tuesday in the Pretoria high court.

Judge Mokhine Mosopa said he was satisfied with the version presented before him by the state.

“Both accused have maintained that at the time of the fire they were not at the house, but unchallenged evidence is the deceased died at their house,” he said.

“The state relied on circumstantial evidence to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. I therefore reject the accused's version, both accused benefited from the [insurance] claims.”

Mosopa found them guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and fraud.

He said Sibusiso was responsible for the death of the deceased and added that though there is no evidence to link Lerato to the murder, she conspired with her husband to kill the deceased.

He said the accused mentioned alibis but failed to call them into their evidence.

In January 2022 Lerato lured her ex-boyfriend Sibusiso Sithebe to her marital home, where she and her husband killed him and then burnt his body.

Sithebe and Lerato have a child and were having an affair, though they were in other relationships.

Lerato then later identified the charred body as her husband's, who at the time was in hiding in Mpumalanga, and then got a R500,000 insurance payout.

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