Lion murder trial man dies
20/01/2006 18:22 - (SA)

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Johannesburg - The third accused in the Hoedspruit lion murder case, Richard Mathebula, has died in hospital, Polokwane police said on Friday.

Superintendent Moatshe Ngoepe said Mathebula, 36, died in the Nelspruit prison hospital after a long illness.

"We can't say when he died. It was sometime between Wednesday and today (Friday), but we only came to know of it today," said Ngoepe.

Mathebula fell at the start of the trial in January last year.

He was accused of the murder of Nelson Chisale together with Simon Mathebula and Mark Scott-Crossley. The three tossed Chisale into a lion enclosure near Hoedspruit in Limpopo Province last year.

Simon Mathebula was sentenced to 15 years, three of them suspended for five years, while Scott-Crossley was sentenced for life.

Richard Mathebula was to appear in the Tzaneen Circuit Court in May this year.

"An autopsy has been conducted, but because of the pending court case, we cannot release any further information. Other legal processes are still to follow," said Ngoepe.