Raymond Steven Jan-Erick Smith (37) from Proclamation Hill in Pretoria has been found guilty of two counts of murder, attempted murder, and robbery with aggravating circumstances, after he tied up an elderly couple and fatally stabbed their son and daughter-in-law during a house viewing.

Pretoria Rekord reports that, according to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, Smith saw a house that belonged to an elderly couple, Gerald Cantello (74) and Lilian Janson (71), advertised for sale on the internet.

“After he saw pictures of the house on the internet and noticed that it had a lot of television sets and electronic devices, he phoned the agent to make an appointment to see the house, not with the intention of buying, but to see what was in the house.

“The first visit he made to the house was on January 16. He made another visit on January 20.”

Mahanjana says that on Smith’s third visit on January 27, at about 18:00, he went back to the house with the intention of robbing the couple.

When he arrived, the man opened for him, and they walked around the house. “When they were in the passage next to the toilet, Smith pushed the man inside the toilet and tied his hands with a cable tie.”

His wife, who heard the commotion, came to check what was happening.

When Smith saw her, he pushed her inside the toilet and tied her up. He then placed rubber balls in their mouths.

“Their son, Grant James Cantello, and his wife, Heidi Cantello, who stayed on the same premises, heard the screams and went inside the house.”

Smith stabbed them with a knife and they both died, says Mahanjana.

The deceased couple’s son (16) heard his mother scream and went to try and rescue her, but he was also stabbed by Smith. “The boy then ran and locked himself inside his bedroom and called for help.”

Smith fled the scene.

He was arrested at his home the next day, while he was washing his stained clothes.

The matter was postponed until tomorrow for sentencing.

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