Northcliff murder trial to begin

The high court trial of two men charged with the torture and murder of a brother and sister in Northcliff is set to commence in Johannesburg on Monday.

 

Kenneth Schroder, 53, and Paul Mundel, 39, will appear in the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Regional Court in connection with the 2008 murder of Garry Smith and Karen Buchanan.

 

The two, arrested in January this year, have been charged with murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and illegal possession of a firearm.

 

The siblings were found murdered in their home. They were bound, gagged, had their teeth pulled out and darts thrown at them. Buchanan was raped. Both had been shot. A number of items were stolen from the house, including a variety of swords, knives, guns, and crossbows.

 

During Schroder and Mundel's bail application in February The Star reported that Mundel's former lover confessed to police about the crime. The pair were granted R15,000 bail each.

 

The newspaper reported that the woman, now a State witness, said she was present at the house during the murders. Mundel's lawyer, Piet du Plessis, has dismissed the woman's claims, saying she was a scorned lover out for revenge.

 

-Sapa