Coligny murder: Doorewaard gets 18-year sentence, 23 years for Schutte
Pieter Doorewaard has been sentenced to an effective 18 years in prison for the murder of Coligny teenager Matlhomola Moshoeu.
JOHANNESBURG - The two men convicted of the murder of Coligny teenager Matlhomola Moshoeu have been sentenced to an effective 18 and 23 years behind bars respectively.
Peiter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte were convicted of the 2017 murder of Moshoeu last year after accusing him of stealing sunflowers from a farm.
They have also been sentenced for kidnapping, intimidation, theft and pointing a firearm, which will run concurrently.
Schutte and Doorewaard will spend 23 years and 18 years in prison respectively for pushing Moshoeu off a moving van in 2017, which resulted in his death.
[BREAKING] #Coligny Accused number 1 Doorewaard sentenced to 15 years in prison for murder, 3 years for kidnapping, 2 years for intimidation, 1 year for theft and 2 years for pointing a firearm. Hendricks says the the sentences will run concurrently. He’ll serve 18 years. TK
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 6, 2019
[BREAKING] #Coligny Accused number 2 Schutte has been sentenced to an effective 23 years behind bars, 20 Years for murder, 3yrs for kidnapping, 2yrs for intimidation, 1 yr for theft and 2yrs for pointing a firearm. TK
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 6, 2019
Judge Ronald Hendricks has described their actions towards Moshoeu, and the State's sole witness Bonakele Pakisi, as disgraceful.
Hendricks says that he also took into consideration the effects of their actions on the community of Coligny and the 15-year-old’s family.
He says that Moshoeu’s death has had devastating effects on his family.
Hendricks says that the pair’s actions have also left the community of Coligny polarised.
The judge says while Doorewaard and Schutte may have not have planned to kill the teenager, they foresaw the results of their actions.
WATCH: Killed over sunflowers: A look back at the Coligny case