'Lion killer' to go free

2008-08-20 21:42

Johannesburg - Mark Scott-Crossley, one of the men involved in throwing Nelson Chisale's body to lions in Hoedspruit in 2004, will be released on parole on Thursday.

"He will be released on parole tomorrow (Thursday), until the end of the remainder of his five-year-sentence," said Sarie Peens, correctional services co-ordinator for the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West region.

Peens said Scott-Crossley would be released under correctional services supervision.

She said he would be visited by correctional services officials at home and at work.

"He is also compelled to visit the correctional services offices and he is expected to do some community work as well. Full details of these conditions will be given to him tomorrow (Thursday)."

Made world headlines

In October 2005 Scott-Crossley was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Phalaborwa circuit court for assaulting and then throwing Chisale to the lions.

On September 28, 2007 the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein set aside Scott-Crossley's murder conviction for the death of Chisale and substituted his life sentence for five years imprisonment on the lesser offence of being an accessory after the fact.

The court found the prosecution had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chisale was alive when he was thrown into the enclosure.

The court then ruled that he would serve the remainder of his sentence for the lesser offence backdated to September 30, 2005.

The case made headlines across the world when the murder occurred on January 2004.

Chisale's skull and some gnawed bones were all that remained after the body was thrown to three white lions at the Mokwalo lion breeding project.

Assaulting a fellow inmate

Scott-Crossley had recently fired Chisale from his construction business at Engedi game farm. Chisale had been helping to build a lodge on the farm before being fired.

He was killed when he returned to collect some of his belongings.

While in jail, Scott-Crossley was also charged with assaulting a fellow inmate, Jacobus Cordier, 40, at the Barberton maximum security prison on December 9, 2006.

On February 21 this year the Barberton Magistrate's Court found him guilty of assault and sentenced him to a fine of R4 000 or two years imprisonment.

He paid the fine.

Scott-Crossley pleaded not guilty to the assault, saying he acted in self-defence when Cordier threatened him with a sharpened spoon.

- SAPA