Jail for couple’s double murder
A MAN is beginning a life sentence in South Africa for the murders of Abercynon husband and wife Christine and Roger Solik.
A MAN is beginning a life sentence in South Africa for the murders of a Welsh couple.
Xolani Brian Ndlovu, 38, had pleaded guilty to the murders of Christine and Roger Solik, who moved from Abercynon to South Africa in 1981.
They were killed in a robbery at their farmland estate.
The couple were tied up and had pillow cases placed over their heads when they were thrown off a bridge into a river.
Christine, 57, was found dead in a river 45 miles from her home. The body of her husband, Roger, a 66-year-old Parkinson’s sufferer, was discovered later.
Xolani Brian Ndlovu, 38, was given two life sentences after admitting their murders at Pietermaritzburg High Court.
He was also sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping and 15 years for house robbery.
A second man, Thulani Moses Mthembu, 43, denies the charges and his trial continues.
KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner Maj Gen Langa said: “We hope this sentence will give closure to the family who lost their loved ones in a brutal manner.
“I congratulate the investigative team who persistently pursued the matter and gathered enough evidence and ensure that justice prevailed.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court, their son Gregory – also writing on behalf of his siblings – described the time since the murders as “disorientating, painful and beyond comprehension”.
At the time of their deaths their children described them as “inseparable”.
Lynne Thomas, a friend of the couple and a bridesmaid at their wedding, had said: “I have a lot of memories of Christine from when we were younger.
“She was a lovely, lovely person.”