Long prison sentences for double murderers

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Three men have been handed double life sentences for the January 2011 murders of 31 year-old Owen Domingo and 22 year old Sara-Jane Oliphant of Bethelsdorp, Port Elizabeth.

Andrico Williams, Shannon Mopp and Junaid van Vaught were sentenced to life behind bars in the PE High Court this morning.

They were handed additional sentences of between 3 and 15 years for hijacking, kidnapping and other charges.

A fourth man, Justin Najoe, was sentenced to ten years in jail for his part in the crimes.

Domingo and Oliphant's bodies were found dumped some eight kilometres apart - with bullet wounds to the head - in bushes along Marine Drive.

They'd been hijacked in Domingo's VW Polo at the Chatty community centre and bundled into the boot of his car.

R900 was withdrawn from Domingo's bank account at the Boardwalk, from where they were taken to the Wild Side on Marine drive and shot and killed.

State Prosecutor Jason Thysse said he was he was happy with the outcome of sentencing.

Domingo's mother, Henricka Kamineth, said justice had been done.

She said her heart was still sore as she did not know which one of the convicted men had fired the shot which killed her daughter.

Two of the men applied for leave to appeal their sentence, but the application was turned down.

In passing sentence Judge Bonasile Sandi said Williams, Mopp and Van Vaught showed no remorse.

"No mercy was shown to them. They were both defenceless and under the circumstances would have offered no resistance," said Judge Sandi.

He said it is "not beyond the bounds of imagination that they would have pleaded for their lives."

After the court proceedings Thysse and police investigator, Warrant Officer Johan Raubenheimer, led family members and media to the places along Marine Drive where wreaths were laid at the spots were the bodies of Domingo and Oliphant were found.