BLOEMFONTEIN – Judgment in the murder trial of three individuals at Byenes Daycare Centre in Wilgehof, Bloemfontein, was rescheduled for Wednesday in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein following a postponement today, Monday.

Dubbed the Wilgehof Triple Murder, it was initially set to continue with the presentation of victim impact statements, with State Prosecutor Advocate Lucky Bondes to lead the testimony while Judge Corné van Zyl would preside over the proceedings.

Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane, provincial police spokesperson, said the reason for the postponement was the unavailability of the attorney who represented the two accused when the trial started. He said the presiding judge, Judge Van Zyl, stated that in the interest of justice, the judgment process would start on Wednesday.

The accused are Mpheng Anna Ntsoeu, a former employee at the daycare centre, and her boyfriend, Katlego Ronald Moroe. They were arrested in August 2024 following intensive police investigations.

The deceased were Betsie Kruger (66), owner of the centre, her daughter Janine Theron (35), and Janine’s husband, Christo Theron (36). Their bodies were discovered at the centre in van Heerden Street, Wilgehof, on 29 June. The killers’ modus operandi was to tie up and strangle the victims. The sole survivor was the owner’s 91-year-old mother, who was inside the house but slept through the ordeal and was left unharmed.

Both accused face three counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and money laundering.

While Ntsoe, former employee of the daycare centre denied being near the crime scene, police investigations revealed that cellular data presented during the trial placed both her and Moroe’s phone signals at a network tower closest to the daycare centre around the time of the murder. Cellphone data placed both accused’s cellphones near a network tower at the National Hospital—the closest tower to the daycare center where the murders occurred.