A South African man who brutally murdered his 4 children after doubting his wife’s fidelity will now serve four life sentences.

A High Court in the Limpopo Division of Polokwane on Friday, June 4, sentenced 52-year-old Senyatsi Lucas Phasha, to serve four life imprisonment terms for the murder of his four children.

According to court documents, Phasha doubted his wife’s fidelity and also accused her of infecting him with HIV. He had even made numerous Facebook posts accusing the woman of cheating him over many other men in the village.

On 17 Feb 2020, the suspect stopped a vehicle that was transporting his children to school and took them away, documents stated.

The next morning, he allegedly informed a neighbor that he had murdered the children and dumped their bodies. The suspect also directed the neighbor to the places where he had abandoned their bodies.

The neighbor alerted the police and officers responded to the scene. The responding officers found the bodies of the children at two different locations.

9-year-old boy Katlego Pasha, 7-year-old girl Joyce Pasha, and 5-year-old
Tshepo Phasha were found dead in the nearby bushes.

Their brother, 3-year-old Adel Phasha, was found dead next to a local mountain, about 3 kilometers from the first scene.

The suspect who had fled the scene was later located and arrested. A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect used an ax to hack three of his children and then smashed the toddler to death with a rock.

The accused court has previous convictions of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and reckless driving, the court heard.

MEC for Social Development Nkakareng Rakgoale, who was in court during the sentencing said that he welcomed the judgment, adding that criminals like the suspect must be permanently removed from society.

In a similar incident, a California man who allegedly killed his wife and then propped her on the couch for children to see was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday.

39-year-old William Wallace murdered his 26-year-old wife, Za'Zell Preston, and placed her body on the couch on Christmas morning for her children to open gifts next to their dead mother. The suspect reportedly told the children that their mother was unresponsive because she was drunk.

African man handcuffed
Representation image. PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images

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