Timothy Ova (54), the man from Albertinia in the Western Cape who was found guilty in February of the murder of Jacorene Vaaltyn (9) and Sharron Arries (10), was sentenced yesterday in the Circuit High Court in George.

Judge Matthew Francis handed down two life sentences for the murder of the children.

Ova was further sentenced to two months in prison for illegal possession of ammunition, six months for indecent assault stemming from an incident in 1999, and five months for obstruction of justice.

The sentences will be served concurrently with one life sentence. This means Ova will effectively be behind bars for 25 years.

During the police investigation, it was found that both little girls had suffocated, as fine sand was found in their mouths, noses and airways.

While sentencing, Judge Francis said the girls had been buried alive and died suffocating.

The fact that the sand was found in their airways indicated that they had inhaled the sand.

The girls’ bodies were found in Ova’s shack in Janfiskaal Street on September 22, 2022, after they were reported missing the previous day. Sharon’s body was found in a blue plastic drum and Jacorene’s body was hidden under Ova’s bed. Both were bound in sheets.

Ova was the last person to see the children alive.

After sentencing proceedings, Ova maintained that he is innocent of the murders and applied to appeal the sentence. His application for appeal was unsuccessful.

The investigating officer, Warrant Officer Alistair Rezant of Mossel Bay’s Domestic Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit, said after the verdict that he was satisfied with the sentence.

Ova was represented by advocate Flip Theron of Legal Aid SA (Judicare) and advocate Lenro Badenhorst was the public prosecutor in the case.