The Pretoria High Court has sentenced the four accused in the horrific kidnapping, rape and murder of a couple that owned a farm in Mooinooi to 12 life terms and 187 years imprisonment collectively.
The 31-year old Aaron and 21-year-old Jack Sithole, the 39-year-old Alex Modau and the 24-year-old Mercia Strydom were previously convicted of multiple charges related to the brutal killing of Gezina Sophia and Joey Van Niekerk, in December 2017.
The 54-year-old Jacobus Strydom committed suicide in prison.
The married couple was reported missing on the 10th of December 2017, after they left for a funeral in Pretoria but never arrived.
Their car was found burnt out in the Magaliesburg area six days later.
Burnt bones believed to be those of the missing women were found in thickets near Mooinooi on the 28th of December.
Jacobus Strydom and his wife, Mercia, tricked the couple into coming to the farm to ostensibly sign an 'offer to purchase' document.
The Strydoms were leasing a portion on the plot of the Van Niekerk's', which they wanted to buy.
The couple were coerced into signing the contract after they were brutally assaulted and raped with the assistance of the Sitholes and Modau.
Their bodies were taken to a nearby river and burnt beyond recognition.
Advocate Juliet Makgwatha in her closing arguments said that the murders were premeditated and motivated by greed.
