Two Gauteng men were handed double life sentences for the alleged murder of a young couple on N12 near Benoni after their bakkie ran out of fuel. In 2019, Melusi Gift Shima, 26, and Ishmael Hlabath, 35, shot and killed Johanco Fleishmann, 19, and Jessica Kuhn, 21, in cold blood on the N12 as their bakkie was stuck and they had no fuel.
After the incident happened the suspects took the phone of one of the victims and fled on foot. Gauteng police said the bakkie of the victims was set alight. Community members extinguished the fire.
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According to Lumka Mahanjana, Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, a witness identified Hlabathi and Shima and the two were arrested in 2019. Mahanjana said, “The suspects were in custody since 2019 after the NPA was successful in opposing bail. The suspects pled not guilty to the murder charges.”
During the trial, the prosecutor Tashnee Ramcharan, argued that the two suspects committed a ruthless and senseless crime and called for the court to give the harshest sentence of life imprisonment and send a strong message to the public. The suspects were found guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Source: News24, The Bharat Express, News Founded, image from News24 of the murdered couple
