Today is D-Day for a Soshanguve couple at the centre of a murder plot that saw a man being killed, burnt to death and his body passed off as the husband's to claim R500,000 insurance.
Lerato Mahlangu and her husband, Sibusiso will today hear their fate at the Pretoria high court where the judge is expected to hand down judgment in the case.
They face charges of murder, fraud, and defeating the ends of justice. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Allegations are that in January 2022, Lerato lured her ex-boyfriend Sibusiso Sithebe to her marital home where she and her husband killed him then burnt his body.
Sithebe and Lerato share a child.
It is alleged that Lerato later identified the charred body as her husband's, who at the time was in hiding in Mpumalanga. She later got the insurance payout.
Sibusiso was arrested in April 2023 for driving a stolen car and it was when he was being profiled that it was discovered that he had faked his death.
Investigations revealed the buried body was Sithebe’s, who had been reported missing. Lerato was later arrested.
The state then built its case on a confession that Sibusiso made, and testimonies by witnesses which included family members who told the court that they were under the impression that Sibusiso died at his marital home during the fire.
In the confession, Sibusiso said he watched his Facebook friends post “rest in peace” messages to him.
However, the duo has denied the state's version.
They were denied bail and have been in custody since the trial started last year.
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