One of the accused in the gruesome Mooinooi murder case was supposedly too sick to appear in court on Tuesday for judgement in another murder case.

James Aaron Sithole (26) stands trial for two murder cases. He is accused of the gruesome murders of Joey and Anisha van Niekerk in December 2017, as well as the murder of Mandie Mey in Rustenburg in 2014.

In both cases, the mastermind in the murders, Koos Strydom, wanted the women’s properties and allegedly ordered Sithole and others to kill the women. Strydom died in prison in September last year after he presumably took his own life by taking an overdose of pills or drinking poison.

Both murder cases have been ongoing since 2018 and Sithole was supposed to appear in the Mogwase court on Tuesday for judgement in the Mey case. It has now been postponed to 20 July.

Mey and Strydom were negotiating the sale of her property at the time of her death. Both had taken out life policies as surety until the transaction was completed. It is believed Strydom ordered Sithole to kill Mey during what was supposed to look like a robbery. She was shot dead on her property. Strydom received R1.8 million from her policy.

Sithole will also appear in court again on 11 Augustus, with three co-accused, when the Mooinooi murder case resumes. He is accused of raping and hanging the two Van Niekerk women.

As in the Mey case, Strydom was in the process of buying the Van Niekerk couple’s property. The women were abducted, tortured, raped and forced to sign a sales agreement. They were then hanged and their bodies burned.