Two women orchestrated an elaborate plan to kill the husband of one of the women, so they could cash in on his insurance policies, which is wife was the beneficiary of.
Last Thursday, April 4, the Durban High Court sentenced Analidia Dias Bella Dosantos, 44, and Charmaine Khumalo, 48, to life and 18 years imprisonment respectively, for the murder they committed in February 2018, in the Newlands East area, Durban.
Regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Ms Dosantos was further convicted for defeating the administration of justice. Their co-accused and Ms Dosantos’ lesbian lover, Teagen Brown died before the trial.
“The deceased, Mark Buttle, and Dosantos were married to each other and during their marriage, Buttle had acquired life insurance policies where Dosantos was the beneficiary,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“Dosantos was aware of at least one of these policies. At some point, their marriage broke down and Dosantos left their marital home and moved in with Brown, and they began an extramarital relationship. The two women planned to kill Buttle so that Dosantos could collect his life insurance. They enlisted the assistance of their neighbour, Khumalo.”
On the day of the incident, Dosantos lured Mr Buttle to the Newlands East area under the pretence of them rekindling their marriage, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
They drank wine together and engaged in sexual intercourse. Thereafter, when Mr Buttle was in a vulnerable state, he was stabbed 53 times. Dosantos then ran to a nearby house saying that she and her husband had been hijacked. The women were arrested after police investigations uncovered messages on their phones, relating to the planning of Mr Buttle’s murder.
In aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Khatija Essack presented the court with a Victim Impact Statement compiled by Mr Buttle’s father in which he said that losing a grown child had been a tragedy and that his wife’s health had declined following their son’s death.
“Dosantos was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and five years imprisonment for defeating the administration of justice (reporting the false hijacking).
“In sentencing Khumalo, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment saying that she was not the mastermind of the murder and that she had co-operated with police upon her arrest. Khumalo was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for murder,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
