Paul Prinsloo (63) who shot and killed his wife and stepdaughter in Kosmos in 2023, was sentenced to effective 25 years imprisonment in the Pretoria High Court on Monday.

Paul Prinsloo

Prinsloo was found guilty of the premeditated murder of his wife Magdaleen Prinsloo (58) and his stepdaughter Ruzanne Weidemna (31) after he shot and killed them with a hunting rifle at their home in Kosmos in Hartbeespoort on 27 November 2023.
Judge Mashudu Munzhelele found him guilty of premeditated murder last week. Munzhelele said during the sentence that substantial and compelling circumstances justify a departure from the minimum sentence. Prinsloo was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for each murder, 15 years of which will run concurrently with the other 20 years.
Prinsloo shot and killed the two women after an argument at their home. Nico Pienaar, who witnessed the incident and is a family friend of Prinsloo, testified that an argument broke out between Prinsloo and the women. He told the court that Prinsloo had told him shortly before the murders that he was going to kill three people that day. Following the argument, Prinsloo went into the house and came back with a hunting rifle, shooting Ruzanne and then his wife in front of Ruzanne’s six-year-old daughter.
Following the sentence on Monday, Magdaleen’s sisters Carlien Kleyn and Nici Hanly said that justice had prevailed. “We are satisfied with the sentence. For the first time in his life, he will have to take responsibility for his actions. Today he was removed from society and will pay for his reckless and heinous crimes. It has been exhausting and heart-breaking 16 months since Magdaleen and Ruzanne’s murders. We will celebrate their lives and will make it our mission to support other victims of obsessive jealousy and narcissism to try and prevent tragedies like this one,” Kleyn said.