One of the men who raped and murdered 86-year-old nun Sister Gertrud Tiefenbacher‚ was convicted of housebreaking last year.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has heard that Mondli Michael Shozi‚ 26‚ was given a six-month suspended sentence in March last year.

His accomplice Sbongiseni Phungula‚ 25‚ has two drug convictions.

Prosecutor Sandesh Sankar said Phungula was fined in 2011 for possession of dagga.

In mitigation of sentencing‚ defence advocate Zina Anastassiou told the court that Shozi left school in Standard 8 when his girlfriend became pregnant. Shozi has two children‚ aged 4 and 8 years.

“He did not know his parents and was brought up by his grandparents‚” she said.

Phungula left school in Standard 9 and was brought up by his sister.

“At the outset let me concede that this is a tragic serious matter. It has to be accepted that there are aggravating circumstances in the respect of sentences due to the age of deceased and her contribution to society. I don’t want to diminish that.”

“There are compelling and exceptional circumstances. These crimes were not premeditated. It happened in a situation where two people became intoxicated and spontaneously went in search of food and ended up raping and killing the deceased‚” she said.

Anastassiou said the pair’s personal circumstances and intoxication should be taken into consideration when the court decides on an appropriate sentence.

On Wednesday Judge Nomphumelelo Radebe found the pair guilty of murder‚ rape and robbery.

Radebe rejected the pair’s version that Tiefenbacher was alive when they fled.

She said district surgeon Dr Yusuf Bhana’s evidence was reliable therefore the court found that the nun died from strangulation.

Bhana told the Pietermaritzburg High Court that a shoelace had been placed on top of the towel that he found wrapped around the nun’s neck.

“My finding is clear that she was strangled by the towel. I doubt that she would have been alive when they (the accused) left. The shoelace indicates that extra effort was made to ensure that she wasn’t alive‚” he said.

He said there were bruises on Tiefenbacher’s neck‚ lip‚ and nostril. On Tuesday the pair had pleaded guilty to murder‚ rape and theft. However the state refused to accept their version on the murder count or their plea to an alternate charge of theft instead of robbery.

In their plea explanations‚ the men did not mention the towel and shoelace and maintained that Tiefenbacher was alive when they left her in the room. However‚ admitted that tying a scarf over her mouth and nose may have resulted in her death.

The pair said they had consumed 750ml bottles of cane and brandy at a tavern on April 18 before deciding to build a shelter with wood from a forest in Ixopo.

On their way to the forest‚ they passed the Sacred Heart Home.

“We decided that we would go into the building where the kitchen was and steal some food‚” they said.

Tiefenbacher appeared in the corridor.

“I grabbed her and held her from behind. My right arm was around her chest and my right hand was at her throat. We pulled her into a bedroom‚” Shozi said.

Phungula tied Tiefenbacher’s hands in front of her with an electric cord and gagged her mouth by tying a scarf around her head.

Shozi raped her before going to the kitchen to steal groceries‚ a vacuum cleaner and watch.

Phungula joined him in the kitchen after raping the nun.

They then fled and sold the groceries.