Life sentence for man who killed elderly Chatsworth woman
A man who was part of a group that robbed a Chatsworth family and killed its matriarch has been handed a life sentence.
Authorities say on the day of the attack in February 2020, Bheki Msomi, Simphiwe Cele and another suspect waited for 73-year-old Jinsee Ram's husband to leave for work before they pounced.
The elderly woman was strangled in front of her daughter, who had been tied up and assaulted.
The assailants fled with money, a cell phone, and a laptop.
Msomi was sentenced in the Durban High Court on Thursday.
He's been slapped with a further combined 27 years in prison for attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Msomi came to know of the Ram family through Cele, who was employed as their gardener.
The NPA's Natasha Kara says Cele was found to be unfit to stand trial, and was declared a State President's patient.
"The court ruled that the attempted murder and robbery sentences run concurrently with life. The court refused his application for leave to appeal both his conviction and sentence."
Another suspect is understood to have died.
