Sedgefield murderers found
‘They choked him and bound and gagged him. They then stabbed him and left him for dead.’
SEDGEFIELD - The two men charged with the murder of Sedgefield resident Peter Henson (76) on 16 September 2019, John McCombi and Henry Molligan, were found guilty in the Knysna Magistrate's Court this week, almost two years to the day since the murder.
The verdict came on Monday 13 September, when the case was heard in Court C where Judge RCA Henney passed judgement. The duo, both in their late 20s, were charged with three counts housebreaking with intent to rob and to murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and murder.
Judge Henney ruled that the two men were guilty of the latter two charges, but they were acquitted on the first. The sentencing proceedings commenced on Tuesday 14 September, but sentencing will take place today, Thursday 16 September, in the Knysna Magistrate's Court.
On 16 September 2019, a member of the community found 76-year-old Peter Henson lifeless in his home in Paul Kruger Street in Sedgefield.
According to a statement by Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie at the time, the community member saw Henson's dog running circles around a motorcycle parked outside the house at about 22:00 on the night of the incident, which he found unusual, and he proceeded to check on Henson.
When he went into the house he discovered Henson lying on the floor, already deceased, with his hands tied behind his back and a cloth in his mouth. He immediately reported the scene to the police.
According to a summary of the case provided by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), they believed the two accused went to Henson's house to rob and murder him (they were later acquitted on this charge). "After breaking into the house, they overpowered the deceased. They choked him and bound and gagged him. They then stabbed him and left him for dead. They left the house with the items specified in count two," the summary read. The duo were arrested the same evening after the police's investigations led them to McCombi's residence in Geelblom Street in Smutsville. There they also found the property that had been stolen from Henson's house - eight items including a DStv decoder, Henson's diary, and a silver lighter.
According to the summary, a post mortem determined that Henson's death had resulted from "a penetrating incised wound of the right jugular vein and foreign body airway obstruction".