3 found guilty of Mihalik’s murder
|Published
HIRED KILLERS: Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti appearing in court.Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / African News Agency (ANA)
The five-year murder trial of the three men accused of killing top Cape criminal lawyer Pete Mihalik is nearing an end after they were found guilty in the Western Cape High Court last week.
Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti were found guilty this past Wednesday on all counts, which include Mihalik’s murder, the attempted murder of his two children and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
They were bust by the SAPS Anti-Gang Unit after Mihalik, 50, was gunned down outside his laaities’ school in Green Point on October 30, 2018.
Two men approached Mihalik’s black Mercedes-Benz outside Reddam House and fired three shots through the driver’s window.
Biyela had been dropped off along Thornhill and Cavalcade Roads in Green Point by his co-accused, a few minutes before Mihalik arrived at the same location.
When Mihalik, who was a well-known lawyer for underworld figures, stopped for his daughter to get out of the vehicle, Biyela approached on foot and shot him.
Mihalik died of a single gunshot to the head.
His eight-year-old son sustained a gunshot wound to his jaw. His then 17-year-old daughter, who was in the back seat, was unhurt.
A ballistics expert, who testified during the trial, told the court the bullet which hit Mihalik’s son was meant for his father.
It was also revealed in court that the men were paid in Kruger coins to the value of R200 000 for the hit.
Sentencing proceedings will continue on August 10.