Chanelle accused in plea bargain talks

2011-11-29 13:16

Pretoria - Two of the five men arrested in connection with the murder of young Pretoria mother Chanelle Henning have entered into plea bargain talks with the prosecution.

Prosecutor Andrea Johnson told the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Tuesday that Gerhardus Petrus du Plessis, 34, and Willem Pieterse, age unknown, were in plea bargain discussions.

She said should the negotiations be concluded earlier, the matter may be disposed of by the court on or before December 14.

Johnson conveyed this to the court during the appearance of Du Plessis and Pieterse alongside a third accused, Andre Gouws, 47.

The three will appear in court again on December 14. They will remain in custody.

Du Plessis, a suspended police detective, has already confessed to being the one who killed Henning.

The other two accused, Ambrose Monye, 37, and Preshan Singh, 24, were scheduled to appear in the same court later on Tuesday.

Henning, 26, was shot dead earlier this month while driving home after dropping off her 5-year-old son at a pre-primary school in Manitoba Drive in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.

Witnesses told the police that two men on a motorbike overtook her car and fired several shots. One hit her chest, fatally wounding her.

Her car continued moving for about 100 metres before crashing into a rock on the pavement.

- SAPA