/ 3 September 2000

FRANSCHHOEK KILLERS GET LIFE IN JAIL

PANDEMONIUM broke out in the Cape High Court when the four Franschhoek Pass murderers were each sentenced to two life terms in prison. Relatives of the accused started shouting as the sentences were passed, forcing the judge to raise his voice in an attempt to complete the sentencing of Heinrico Pietersen, 18, Morne Lakay, 23, Dawid Williams, 23 and Jehan Abrahams, 27. The four were found guilty earlier this week of the murder of Dorian van Rensburg, who was shot in the head at close range, and one of his two woman companions, Marisa du Toit, who was shot in the head. The two were killed at the Franschoek Pass viewing spot last July. The men were also found guilty of the attempted murder of another woman among the group, Jean Audrey Myburgh, who, the judge said, miraculously survived the attack by pretending to be dead.