A killer baited his own trap - sprang it - and put his gruesome grin behind bars. Now he's thoroughly cheesed off.
Thembinkosi Khalipha's liking for cheese saw him taking time out before leaving his crime scenes to chomp a chunk and wash it down with wine. That was his undoing.
Khalipha, 27, and co-accused Mbulelo Ngodi, 32, both of Matholesville in Roodepoort, were on trial in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday on 11 charges including three murders, four rapes, two indecent assaults and two housebreaking charges.
In the first incident on February 11 last year, the accused broke into the house of a Horison couple, who were in their 70s, strangled the husband, raped the wife and stole their household goods.
Eight days later, the men broke into the Roodepoort home of George and Gassy Myburgh, both aged 87. They raped the woman and then murdered the couple by strangling them.
In both incidents, Khalipha had helped himself to cheese and wine.
Handing down his judgment, Judge Narien Pandya said the accused had been linked by DNA, fingerprints found on the scene and dental evidence.
He convicted both men for the offences committed in the Horison incident, where a couple were robbed, the husband murdered and the wife raped.
The court acquitted Khalipha on charges of robbing and murdering the Myburghs but convicted his co-accused for the offences.
Khalipha was found not guilty due to lack of evidence.
The judge detailed how dental expert Professor Herman Bernard had proved that toothmarks found on the cheese had been those of Khalipha. Bernard had testified that "there was a high degree of certainty that the bite marks on the cheese belonged to Khalipha", said Judge Pandya.
The court also found that fingerprints found on a wine bottle were those of both accused.
In addition, the accused were found in possession of the stolen items when they were arrested.
"The court finds both accused to be thorough liars. They fabricated their version (by claiming they had picked up the goods in the street).
"In all cases the victims were elderly people who lived alone. In both cases, men were killed and their spouses raped. In both incidents it appears that cheese had been eaten. The cheese appears to be the favourite of accused number two," he added.
Sentencing proceedings were to be heard on Tuesday.