A witness in the bail hearing of Paul Prinsloo (62) who shot and killed his wife and stepdaughter in Kosmos, Hartbeespoort in November 2023, told the court on Thursday that Prinsloo previously boasted about shooting his stepdaughter’s former boyfriend with an air gun.

Paul Prinsloo (62)

“He claimed it was out of self-defence because the former boyfriend climbed over his fence,” Nico Pienaar, who was present during the murders, testified. Pienaar was being questioned by Prinsloo’s legal team, Advocate Zirk Pansegrouw and Tom Pritchard.
Prinsloo allegedly shot and killed his wife Magdaleen (58) and stepdaughter Ruzanne (31) on 27 November 2023 at their house in Kosmos following heated arguments between the three people. Ruzanne’s six-year-old daughter was present at the time of the murders.
Prinsloo’s legal team asked Pienaar if he could still clearly recall the incident, upon which he replied that there was nothing wrong with his memory. Pienaar earlier testified that he arrived at Prinsloo’s residence around noon on the day of the murders and sat with Prinsloo at the swimming pool where the little girl was swimming. He told the court that Prinsloo confided in him that he had to leave the house in December because his marriage was on the rocks. “Paul told me there were three people he wanted to kill. He said “Ruzanne, my bitch of a wife and Alfie, Magdaleen’s former boyfriend.”
According to Pienaar, Magdaleen approached them and heated arguments between Prinsloo, Magdaleen and Ruzanne followed. Prinsloo then allegedly went into the house and returned with a hunting rifle after which he shot and killed both women. He allegedly first shot Ruzanne, after which Magdaleen screamed at Pienaar to call the police. Pienaar told the court he had picked up the little girl and was trying to phone when Magdaleen was shot.
Prinsloo’s legal representative Advocate Zirk Pansegrouw asked Pienaar why he did not try to stop the murders, to which he replied that the little girl’s safety had been his priority. Pienaar shouted for Prinsloo to open the gate and fled to safety with the girl.
The bail hearing will continue on Thursday, 18 July.
In a surprise twist, the court announced on Thursday that Magdaleen’s sister, Nici Hanly will no longer be testifying. Hanly said she would comment at a later stage. “We just want to get this over and done with. It has been eight very long months,” she said.