A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of a 78-year-old woman on a Cradock farm last May.
Police spokesperson, Captain Lariane Jonker, said Themba Sindaphi, was also sentenced to an additional 18 years imprisonment on a charge of aggravated robbery in the Grahamstown High Court on Friday.
She said his sentence follows after he brutally murdered Paddy (Patricia) Orphen on the Morgenson farm in the Cradock policing precinct on 5 May 2020.
Jonker said Sindaphi stole Orphen's handbag and her Ford Ranger bakkie which was later found deserted and burnt in nearby bushes in the industrial area.
She said he was found guilty on both charges on Friday.
The sentences will run concurrently.
The Cradock Station commander, Ruth Slater, commended investigating officer, Constable Siyabonga Ntsimango, for his sterling work on the case.
