Three killers jailed for life
2003-10-09 11:11
Johannesburg - The High Court has imposed long prison sentences - including three life terms - on four men for the murder and robbery of a 78-year-old woman in 2001 at her Roosevelt Park home.
Noreen Bath was tied up and strangled shortly after four men entered her house on the evening of May 29 two years ago.
Leratho Mpotla, 21, and Collen Maseko, 35, were arrested in Montgomery Park, Johannesburg, on June 14 2001.
A third suspect, 30-year-old David Sipho Thwala, was arrested in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, on the same day.
Sunny Samuel Nthlungwana, 50, of Tzaneen, was arrested a month after the murder.
All four accused faced charges of housebreaking with the intention to commit robbery with aggravating circumstances, and murder.
Thwala, Maseko and Nthlungwana were each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, and 15 years' on the housebreaking charge.
Mpotla was sentenced to a total of 30 years' imprisonment. He received a 12-year sentence for housebreaking and an additional 18 years' for murder.
- SAPA