Two jailed for Susan Howarth's murder in South Africa

Two brothers have been jailed for the murder of a British woman who died after she and her husband were tortured at their home in South Africa.

Susan Howarth, 64, and Robert Lynn, 66, were shot, stabbed and tied up by masked raiders on their farm in Dullstroom, in Mpumalanga province.

Ms Howarth, originally from Southsea, Hampshire, died during the ordeal in February 2017.

The couple were forced into a van and dumped by the roadside.

Meshack Yika, 28, and Themba Yika, 38, from Bergendal farm, near Belfast in South Africa, were both sentenced to 37 years in prison, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mpumalanga.

They broke into the couple's home along with a third suspect, Lucas Makau, on 18 February 2017, regional NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa confirmed.

The trio attacked the couple with a blowtorch and shot Ms Howarth in the head before shooting Mr Lynn in the neck.

Spokesperson Ms Nyuswa said they continued to torture him, stabbing him in the shoulder until he opened a safe and gave them money, two mobile phones and a camera.

"They further burnt him with a blowtorch several times on his body. As a result, he gave them his bank card and the pin number with the hope that they would leave him,"she added.

"Instead, they covered his face with a plastic bag and forced both the deceased and the surviving victim in their van and drove away. They then threw them along the road."

Prosecutor Eric Sihlangu SC shared Mr Lynn's account of the ordeal with Judge Lineo Liphoto at Mpumalanga High Court.

It revealed Mr Lynn was also stabbed once in the shoulder, taken from his home and made to kneel down in scrubland, and then shot again in the neck.

Judge Liphoto found the brothers guilty of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, housebreaking, robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Ms Nyuswa said Makau, aged 27 at the time of the attack, had died during the trial which meant the charges against him were dropped.

Ms Howarth reportedly moved to Dullstroom in 1996 to set up a stables business. Her ashes were to be flown to Southsea to be buried with her parents.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: CELESTE COMBRINK TLU SA