Cape Town – The High Court in Mpumalanga reportedly sentenced a 27-year-old man, Simo Thabethe, to two life sentences for the rape and gruesome murder of Nomcebo Thandiwe Khumalo, 15.
The two started off as Facebook friends for three months before arranging to meet face to face, reports said.
According to Mpumalanga NPA spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, the two got an opportunity to meet up on December 17, 2020 when Khumalo “was sent to a local shop to buy some hair dye”.
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“On her way to the shop, they met and the accused requested that they move to a secluded area, where they can have a private conversation, which the deceased resisted. He then grabbed her and dragged her into the nearby forest, and raped her. During the process, the accused broke her neck which led to the death of the deceased,” News365 quoted Nyuswa as saying.
Thabethe also stole the victim’s cellphone and R57, the report said.
IOL reported that the accused was arrested four months after the incident happened.
“This was after the discovery of the deceased’s cellphone which he gave to his brother,” the report said.
Thabethe pleaded guilty to all counts and was convicted of rape, murder and theft.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
