Judgment is expected to be handed down on April 1 in the case against two men accused of murdering Johanco Fleischman (19) and Jessica Kuhn (21) on the Putfontein bridge on May 26, 2019.

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Fleischman and Kuhn, along with two other passengers identified as workers, were en route to Benoni from a pig farm in Kendal when the vehicle they were travelling in ran out of fuel that fateful Sunday morning.

The victims took the Putfontein bridge off-ramp to park the vehicle and requested help from an acquaintance over the phone.

While they were awaiting help, the suspects approached the vehicle.

Kuhn was fatally shot in the upper body, and Fleischman was shot in the head and upper body.

Both the workers who were with the victims at the time of the shooting fled the scene during the incident.

The suspects, Malosi Gift Shima and Ishmael Hlabathi, have pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and two charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

They appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on March 17, where the State and defence made final arguments.

On June 18, 2020, the police operationalised information led by the Provincial Organised Crime Unit to Benoni, where Shima and Hlabathi were arrested. The police said no firearms were recovered during the arrest.

During court proceedings, the prosecutor said in her closing arguments the State has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and the court should find the two men guilty.

The court heard that one of the witnesses reported the incident to the police despite fearing for his life.

The witness apparently moved to KwaZulu-Natal, but after some time, came back and reported the matter to the police when he realised no action had been taken against the perpetrators.

According to this witness, there was a third man with the two accused; however, only one of them was in possession of a firearm.

It was revealed a cellphone and money were stolen from the scene.

The defence lawyer for the accused handed over a student report as part of the evidence to the magistrate to prove that one of the accused was attending classes and was in his second year of studies.

He said the two accused couldn’t have committed the crime as their minds were set on what they did that year.

The court heard that on the day of the incident, one of the accused was preparing for school on Monday, while the second suspect was allegedly asked by his brother to monitor his tuck shop.

The defence said the two accused still question why they were arrested and requested the court to take into consideration whether the two suspects are the right people to prosecute, as well as note the dangers of a wrongful conviction.

He added the State should not prosecute based on lies, as he believed the witnesses were unreliable as the police found nothing in the suspects’ possession on the day of the arrest in June 2020.

The City Times spoke to the mothers of the two deceased, Marika Fleischman and Johanna Kuhn, who battled to hold back their tears throughout the court proceedings.

They said they were still battling to come to terms with their loss.