A long-running case of arson and murder involving a love triangle ended with a stiff sentence passed on the accused by the South Gauteng High Court.
The accused Vanessa Sidimela who was sentenced to four life terms admitted to both offences which resulted in the deaths of three children and a 29-year-old pregnant woman. The incident which occurred in Marlboro on 6 April last year and the hearings at the Alexandra Regional Court featured in Alexandra News. The victims were children of the rival lover and her sister.
They were burnt beyond recognition in a shack she set alight at a disused factory turned into residences. She went to the shack under the cover of darkness and expecting the rival to be inside, doused the shack with petrol causing an inferno which also destroyed other shacks. At the time, the rival and shared boyfriend were away. Luckily no other death or injuries were incurred and investigation resulted in her arrest.
The incident evoked residents’ fury against her causing her to abandon bail application for her safety. The high court affirmed the regional court’s guilty finding on her resulting in the stiff sentences. The arson charge will run concurrently with the life sentences.
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