Killer begs for mercy

2008-08-26 21:41

Pretoria - Three men were jailed for 50 years on Tuesday for killing a Bronkhorstspruit farmer and assaulting a family member three years ago.

Handing down the sentence, Pretoria High Court Judge John Murphy expressed concern over an increase in this type of crime in the Pretoria area in the past three years.

This had caused many people to leave the city, he said.

Joseph Kobele, 27, Antonie Sithole, 28, and Joseph Sithole, 37, will have to serve at least 30 years of their prison sentences.

They were last week convicted on charges of robbing and murdering 60-year-old Robert McNeil and kidnapping and severely assaulting a family member, Pieter de Beer.

The crime was committed on De Beer's farm outside Bronkhorstspruit in May 2005.

Murphy said the trio preyed on two elderly men, broke into their house and gave them a brutal beating.

Man was kidnapped

Then they removed their victims' valuable possessions and subjected De Beer to the further terror of being kidnapped.

De Beer was forced to drive the attackers to a nearby township, where he was left unconscious at the side of the road.

McNeil died in hospital from his wounds.

All three man have denied guilt.

Kobele burst into tears when they were sentenced, while Antonie Sithole begged the court for mercy.

Joseph Sithole told the court he discovered in prison that he was HIV-positive.

Murphy granted the three leave to appeal against their convictions and sentences.

There was mitigation in the fact that they were first offenders and did not have the direct intention to kill McNeil, Murphy said.

- SAPA