Man sentenced for murder of elderly PMB mom, daughter
A KwaZulu-Natal man has been handed a 25-year prison sentence for killing two women in Pietermaritzburg.
Shane Boucher pleaded guilty to the murders of Rita Westfahl and her 58-year-old daughter Carol in May.
Prosecutors say the 38-year-old man, who had been drinking, went to visit the Westfahls.
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He and Rita continued to drink together before he fell asleep.
NPA KZN spokesperson Natasha Kara says he later got up during load shedding and went to the kitchen to get water but felt a presence behind him and, without checking to see who it was, drew a knife from his belt and stabbed Rita twice in the neck.
Kara says Boucher panicked and, fearing Carol might identify him, stabbed her as well before fleeing to Durban in her mother's car.
He was arrested in the Bluff area after a police officer spotted him in a supermarket.
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"Boucher was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for Rita's murder, 25 years imprisonment for Carol's murder and five years imprisonment for theft. He will serve an effect of 25 years imprisonment.
"In sentencing Boucher, the court considered that he was a first offender, with no previous or pending convictions. He was also remorseful and complied with authorities as soon as he was arrested."
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