Man sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of Nelspruit deputy sheriff

The man who shot and killed Nelspruit deputy sheriff Michelle Jones (31) and critically injured her partner, Julio Cohen, on October 20, 2022, was sentenced to life imprisonment today, March 20, at the Mbombela High Court.

In a statement by the Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, she said Jones was killed after she had bought a house the accused, Hendry Dlamini (36), was occupying. She said on October 19, a day before the murder, Jones and Cohen had gone to the house to change the locks when Dlamini arrived.

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She said he banged on the door and told the couple that the house belonged to him, and that no one else would reside in the house, which he said had been his mother’s home. He further threatened to kill them, and as a result, the pair applied for a protection order against the accused.

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Nyuswa said on the day of the murder, the couple had been parked near a shop in Nelsville when Dlamini saw them. He walked towards their vehicle and started shooting at them. Cohen was shot in his arm, while Jones suffered injuries to her neck, chest and abdomen.

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Lowvelder previously reported that Dlamini had handed himself over at the Nelspruit Police Station on October 25, 2022.

Nyuswa said in court, Dlamini pleaded not guilty after the state had successfully opposed his release on bail. During the trial, Dlamini elected to conduct his own defence.

“The state, presented by Adv Thulani Msibi, led evidence from several witnesses that proved there was a dispute over the house that was purchased by the deceased. Another witness’s testimony placed the accused at the scene of the crime,” said Nyuswa.

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“A photo album and ballistic report linking the accused with the crime were handed in. Their evidence was corroborated by the post-mortem report, which proved that the deceased’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds in the neck, chest and abdomen.”

She said the court had found the evidence of the state witnesses credible, and Dlamini was found guilty as charged. Msibi argued that the court should not deviate from the ordained sentence of life imprisonment.

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Before imposing this sentence, Judge Roelofse remarked that the accused had the intention to kill the deceased.

He said the accused had committed a serious crime, a crime against a woman who was defenceless, and that he had shown no remorse for his actions.