Sentencing starts in Heila Kilian murder

NATIONAL NEWS - The state seeks sentences of life imprisonment for all four accused that were found guilty of the 2018 murder of Heila Kilian (63) on the farm Gazania near Stilbaai as sentencing proceedings started in the George Circuit High Court on Wednesday 20 April.

The legal representatives of the accused, Sakhumzi Benya (32), Nkoshihethu Nocuza (27), Msomi Nikani (27) and Monwabisi Maki (27), each delivered mitigating* and personal circumstances of the accused before sentencing takes place on Friday 22 April.

They were found guilty on a charge of murder, three charges of aggravated robbery, one of illegal possession of a firearm and one charge of illegal possession of ammunition in December last year.

Kilian was shot through the heart and died while she was enjoying a braai with her sister Brenda and brother-in-law David Thomas during a visit to the farm. Her family members were tied up and beaten in an ordeal that lasted two hours.

The perpetrators ransacked the house and fled in a white Toyota Hilux bakkie that belonged to the Thomases, taking an undisclosed amount of cash and firearms.

Of the four who were found guilty, Nocuza is the only one with previous convictions which include theft and assault. He is also still serving a sentence imposed on him in 2019 after he was arrested and found guilty of hijacking in Cape Town. He then received a suspended sentence which is current until 2024.

The rest of the accused are all still relatively young, have no previous convictions and have been in custody since August 2018.

During the arguments, the court heard that the accused never intended to commit murder when they went to the farm and during the entire trial, no specific find could be made as to the actual shooter.

The state argued that murder is a serious crime which deserves a serious sentence and could find no substantial or compelling factors to deviate from the minimum sentences.

The state requested that all the accused be sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Killian.

* Mitigating circumstances are conditions and factors that do not excuse or justify an offence, but that are taken into consideration when considering the consequences of the legal and moral culpability of the guilty party.

The accused making their way up to court from the holding cells.