A father who did not want to continue paying maintenance after he retired as a teacher has been sentenced to life behind bars for arranging the murder of his own son.
Kearabetswe Molatole, 17, was found dead at his father's home in Gladstone, Thaba 'Nchu, in the Free State after soccer practice in April 2017.
Kelebogile Molatole, 50, Khoeliea-Marena Sefuthi, 53, and Tebogo Molatole, 47, were each sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday for the murder of Molatole's son.
Free State police spokesperson Col Thandi Mbambo said the teenager's cousin left him after soccer practice to buy soft drinks at a shop.
Free State father had son 'taken out' to avoid paying maintenance
A father who did not want to continue paying maintenance after he retired as a teacher has been sentenced to life behind bars for arranging the murder of his own son.
Kearabetswe Molatole, 17, was found dead at his father's home in Gladstone, Thaba 'Nchu, in the Free State after soccer practice in April 2017.
Kelebogile Molatole, 50, Khoeliea-Marena Sefuthi, 53, and Tebogo Molatole, 47, were each sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday for the murder of Molatole's son.
Free State police spokesperson Col Thandi Mbambo said the teenager's cousin left him after soccer practice to buy soft drinks at a shop.
"On his return he found Kearabetswe lying in a pool of blood in the back room of his father's house … Police were summoned and it was discovered that the boy had been shot in the head and chest," Mbambo said in a statement.
The provincial organised crime task team was assigned to investigate.
"It was not long before the pieces of the puzzle were put together and the three - the deceased's father, stepmother and the hitman - were arrested," said Mbambo.
"A thorough investigation revealed that the motive for the murder was that the father did not want to continue paying maintenance after he retired as a teacher," said Mbambo.
Free State provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Moeketsi Sempe said: "The specialised team of detectives was put together in the Selosesha cluster and they worked tirelessly sourcing information and ultimately made the breakthrough."