Koster- Two men have been sentenced to life in prison, and a third was given an 18-year jail term, for brutally killing an elderly couple on their farm near Koster, Beeld reported on Friday.

Samson Sihlangu, Tshepang Moumakwa, and Johnny Maema were sentenced in the Mogwase Circuit Court in the North West for murdering Marthie Erasmus, 63, and her husband Chris Erasmus, 62, on their farm Hartbeesfontein in December 2010.

Sihlangu and Moumakwa were handed life terms and Maema 18 years imprisonment.

Although Chris Erasmus survived the farm attack, he died a month later.

“We will never forget how my parents were tortured, or that my mother was beaten to death with a hammer, strangled, and stabbed,” said the victims’ daughter Annelise.

A social worker’s report, submitted to the court during the trial, had mentioned that Marthie Erasmus had been known for her kindness, and because she fed the poor and transported the elderly to collect their pension money.

– SAPA