Meticulous investigation into the brutal murder of a family of four in 2016, has yielded a most welcome total of eight life imprisonments, after the two accused were sentenced on Tuesday, 19 September 2017 in the South Gauteng High Court.
Elvis Gobodwana and Eric Baliki were each served with four life sentences for murder, and ten years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
In March last year, a family of four, including two United Kingdom citizens and a nine year old child, were killed on a plot in Doornfontein, Randfontein.
Related – Bloody trail of murder in South Africa
The investigating team made a breakthrough a few months later, leading to the arrest of three suspects. Gobodwana and Baliki were found guilty by the South Gauteng High Court on 19 September 2017, while the third accused was acquitted.
“Police have a Constitutional responsibility to investigate all crimes that threaten the safety and/or security of the community, and therefore have direct influence on the conviction of criminals by the Courts,” Lieutenant General Deliwe de Lange, the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner of Police said in welcoming the successful conviction. “Convictions of this nature will certainly take us a long way in restoring the confidence of the public in the criminal justice system of the country.”
With the festive season fast approaching, Police in Gauteng are all the more encouraged to continue with operations aimed at thwarting attempts by criminals to make communities live in constant fear. The safety and security of the community remains a number one priority for the Police in the Province.
Related – No arrests in connection with Randfontein family farm murder
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