Husband and wife in court for allegedly murdering her ex

PRETORIA - The Pretoria High Court has heard how a man who was allegedly killed by his ex and her new husband, was burnt alive.

Sibusiso Mahlangu and his wife, Lerato are currently on trial on charges of murder and fraud.

They are accused of killing Sibusiso Sithebe, her ex and passing his body off as Mahlangu’s in a fire at their RDP house in Soshanguve in order to cash in on his life insurance.

They were arrested last April, after police pulled over a vehicle that was suspected to have been stolen and found Mahlangu behind the wheel.

Pathologist Busisiwe Mashiya took the stand on Tuesday.

She examined the deceased’s body three days after his death on 5 January 2022 and told the court that his carbon monoxide level was 70 percent.

She says anything over 10 percent is significant and that levels above 35 percent are fatal.

"In this case here it was more than 70 which is more than the fatal range so it shows us that the deceased was alive at the time of engulfment and the carbon monoxide level was significantly high."

Mashiya also said that the accused’s blood alcohol levels indicated he was intoxicated at the time of his death.