[Image: Netwerk24]
Once a humble gardener, now a hired killer—Pardon Danhire has been sentenced for his role in the brutal murders of a Gauteng woman and her young son.
The catch is that he was hired by the woman’s boyfriend, who is still set to face the music.
The Johannesburg High Court handed down a double blow to Danhire, sentencing the 37-year-old to 25 years in prison for each murder. His victims: 40-year-old Nadine Terblanche and her son, Ruandre Voster.
Danhire wasn’t the mastermind, turning on his alleged employer—Frederick Stapelberg—the man accused of orchestrating the grisly crime.
Stapelberg, who was in a relationship with Terblanche, allegedly hired Danhire in 2023, driven by greed and the promise of financial gain. The price of two lives? A mere R100,000.
Danhire had worked as a gardener for Stapelberg, but his duties took a sinister turn when he was allegedly ordered to kill the woman and her child. The bodies were discovered in November 2023 by a local security company responding to a panic alert—one pressed by none other than Stapelberg himself.
But things didn’t go as planned. A dispute over payment led Danhire to crack. He confessed and pointed investigators straight to Stapelberg, exposing him as the alleged puppet master behind the murders.
In exchange for his cooperation, Danhire entered into a plea deal with the State. The court, acknowledging his remorse, deviated from a life sentence, ordering that his 25-year terms run concurrently. An additional five years were suspended—on one condition: Danhire must testify against Stapelberg when the trial begins on March 25.
“The court further ordered that five years of his sentence be suspended, on condition that he truthfully testifies against his co-accused Frederick Stapelberg,” confirmed NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.
Danhire might have escaped a life sentence, but his days as a free man are over. Meanwhile, Stapelberg awaits his reckoning.
[Source: IOL]
