Durban - A Durban High Court Judge did not mince his words as he jailed a former policeman and his fiancee to life imprisonment for the 2013 murder of Malvern mother Nalin Naidu.
"As a nurse and detective you swore to uphold the value of life but you were lured by greed," said Judge Joe Nxusani to Detective Constable Sifiso Nicholas Nkosi and his fiancee Phumla Ethel Matseke.
Nkosi and Matseke were also jailed for an additional 25 years collectively for kidnapping.
In passing sentence, Judge Nxusani said that the accused did not show any mercy to Naidu.
"Now you come before the court to plead for the very mercy you deprived her from."
"The deceased was cut like a chicken. She had no chance from the moment she was grabbed. Her fate was sealed, death had come for her."
State prosecutor, Denardo MacDonald said a life sentence was appropriate as it was a crime of greed and not need.
"This was a contract killing that was well planned. It must act as a deterrent."
Nkosi and Matseke were part of six people who were arrested by members of the Warrant Officer Rajan Govender and members of the Provincial police task team and charged for Naidu's brutal murder.
Naidu had gone missing from the Malvern mall. Her body was found in a bush in Shongweni on October 29, 2014.
Her throat had been slit and she suffered facial injuries.
Nkosi and Matseke had been on the run for six months before they were arrested.
The duo has been awaiting trial prisoners at Westville Prison since their arrest in 2015.
The alleged Naidu's husband Seelan who died in 2016 while awaiting trial, was the mastermind for the killing.
Contract killers, Zwelakhe Maphumulo and Gcina Magwaza pleaded guilty to their role in the murder in 2015.
Maphumulo is serving a 30 jail term; while Magwaza is serving a 22 jail term.