NELSPRUIT – One of two men arrested for the murder of an 86-year-old farmer, walked out a free man while his co-accused was sentenced to 43 years in prison.
Mr Thomas Nyathi was acquitted of all charges due to the state’s failure to prove beyond reasonable doubt that his DNA samples were not tampered with.
As a result, he was released on Friday September 13 after spending two years behind bars.
This follows the decision taken by the Pretoria Circuit of the High Court in Nelspruit, while his co-accused, Mr Aaron Nkosi was found guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Johannes Hendrik Schoeman, 15 years for house robbery and three for kidnapping.
The judge also mentioned that the witness’s testimony in identifying her attackers was not credible as she only identified them in the dock. She also mentioned that the state failed to give evidence of the chain of events when a blood sample was collected from the accused.
The judge said the evidence against Nkosi, due to the pointing out to police, automatically put him at the scene of crime.
The sentencing follows an incident which took place on December 17, 2010, when a couple was attacked, the man strangled and the woman kidnapped in the Vygeboom area near Badplaas.
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