3 guilty of Hekpoort killings
2004-11-04 23:08
Johannesburg - Three men were convicted in Johannesburg High Court on Thursday for the murder of an elderly couple on a farm near Hekpoort in Hartbeesfontein earlier this year.
Psychiatrist Cornelius Johannes Petrus Lourens, 79, and his wife, Olive-May, 80, were murdered on March 10. Lourens was beaten to death and his wife strangled.
Ben Ncube, 24, Tshidi Soke, 18, and Colin Selemane, 19, were all found guilty on two counts of murder and a count of housebreaking with intent to rob.
The lawyers representing the three asked for a postponement in sentencing so they could contact probation officers to testify in mitigation of sentence.
The court postponed the case to next year when the trial is to be finalised between January 19 and 21.
The couple had lived on the farm for 10 years.
- SAPA