"Not even a death sentence will bring our daughter back," This was the reaction from Pitse's uncle, Edward Pitse after Flavio Hlabangwane was sentenced to life imprisonment today for the murder of their daughter. Flavio murdered Tshepang who was also his lover, dismembered her body, and kept some of the body parts inside his freezer in his rented room in November 2021. Hlabangwane pleaded guilty to murder, defeating the ends of justice as well as the violation of a corpse.

LOST HOPE

Edward told the media after the sentencing that they will not be at peace until the deceased's torso is found, however, they have lost hope in ever finding it. "I hope Flavio enjoys his days in jail. The fact that he's going to spend the rest of his life there doesn't change anything for us, it won't bring Tshepang back. As a family, we have accepted our loss but we were expecting a lot from her as she was a 4th year medical student. She was going to be of importance to the family, especially her father," said Edward.

BRUTAL

In his plea explanation, Hlabangwane told the court that on the day he murdered Tshepang, they had an argument after he used her bank card without her permission. He then pushed Tshepang, who hit the back of her head on the stove. She then charged toward him and he took out a knife and stabbed her several times. Upon realising that he had killed her, he tried to get rid of the evidence by dismembering the arms, legs, head, and torso and disposed of the head and torso at different locations but stored the limbs in his fridge.

THE SENTENCE WELCOME

The National Prosecuting Authority's Phindi Mjonondwane said they welcome the sentencing. She said Hlabangwane was further sentenced to 10 years for defeating the ends of justice and 15 years for violation of a corpse. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the one imposed on the murder charge. "The careless and savage killing of women cannot be normalised and the NPA will continue to advocate for stringent sentences for perpetrators of gender-based violence. Credit goes to Adv Badenhorst and Investigating Officer, Sergeant Nxumalo for ensuring that justice is served," said Mjonondwane.