Three teens from the notorious "Born to Kill" gang who beat and stabbed their rivals to death in the Free State have been handed life prison terms by the high court in Bloemfontein.

Lefa Soaisa, 19, and two accomplices - aged 16 and 17 - stabbed one of their victims more than 50 times. They were sentenced last week following their arrest in February.

Sergeant Sinah Mpakane said that during their trial it emerged that they had been  walking in Mangaung with the deceased from a rival gang.

"On that fateful night, [they] all went to a shack where the deceased were beaten and stabbed multiple times with a sharp object," said Mpakane.

The bodies were then dumped near a shopping mall in Mangaung.

Mpakane said the sentences would "serve as a deterrent to other gang members".

The trio were each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for armed robbery and another three years for contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.  

A bid to appeal their conviction was unsuccessful.