Man guilty of execution-style murders

Published Dec 21, 2012

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KwaZulu-Natal - There were mixed emotions in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday when a 20-year-old man was found guilty of the execution-style murders of his girlfriend and two men in Northdale in May last year.

Erwin Ramsumaj’s mother wept at his conviction.

Acting Judge Jerome Ngwenya found that Ramsumaj had shot his girlfriend, Merle Maistry, 44, Jeff Pillay, 45, and Musa Ndlovu, 35, at point-blank range in the head.

“Justice has been done,” Maistry’s mother, Jenny Frank, said.

The State had alleged that Ramsumaj and Maistry were in a relationship at the time of the murders, and that he suspected her of having an affair with a man she had met online.

He confronted her at Pillay’s house, where she was a visitor, and demanded to see her cellphone. When she refused, Ramsumaj became enraged and killed the trio.

A 10-year-old boy, who was playing in the garden when the murders took place, was the only witness to the incident.

Judge Ngwenya said although the child’s evidence had to be approached cautiously, it was generally impressive.

The child’s evidence placed Ramsumaj at the scene, carrying a gun. The boy told the court that he had seen Ramsumaj cock the gun, put it to Pillay’s head and fire.

Ramsumaj had pleaded not guilty to the murders, saying that he had been drinking at a shebeen with people at the time.

The judge said there was no credible evidence that backed Ramsumaj’s alibi.

Sentencing was postponed to January. - The Mercury

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