Hitman jailed for life after attacking elderly couple on son-in-law's orders

Davis was handed two life sentences for a deadly stabbing and two attempted murders carried out at dawn, under orders from the victims' son-in-law.
A Cape Town man has been sentenced to two life terms for killing an elderly man and attacking his wife during morning prayer, in a paid hit ordered by the couple's son-in-law.
The High Court Western Cape Division handed Reagan Davis two life sentences and 15 years for the murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis and the attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife, Kulsoem Dennis, and their daughter, Ibtisaam Dennis.
The attackers targeted the couple while they were preparing for the sunrise prayer.
Elderly couple targeted while preparing for sunrise prayers
Davis, 35, stood trial alongside the elderly couple's son-in-law, Brent Williams. However, Williams died on 10 February 2025, just before the state closed its case. After Williams died, the trial continued against Davis.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said that senior state prosecutor Advocate Evadne Kortje proved that the murder was a contract killing and Davis was paid R1 000, which he used to buy takkies.
Kortje led evidence from 10 witnesses, which revealed that Williams and his wife, Ibtisaam Dennis, stayed with the elderly couple.
ALSO READ: Western Cape police launch investigation after Mauritian killed in apparent hit
Ntabazalila said the couple had two children and marital problems.
'Williams hired Davis and another man, unknown to the state, to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. At the time, the elderly couple stayed in a flatlet in the couple's yard,' Ntabazalila said.
CCTV footage showed Williams travelling with the two co-perpetrators in his red maroon bakkie to the area of 6 Conifer Close in the early hours of 31 January 2019. The son-in-law dropped Davis and the other man off and drove off to wait until they finished the job.
Son-in-law dropped perpetrators off near house
Davis and the other man gained access to the house through the security gate, which was not forced open.
Devout Muslim worshippers prepare for Fajr, or the sunrise prayer, at approximately four in the morning. Around the world, worshippers offer one of the five daily prayers of the Islamic faith. The taking of Wudu, which is the cleansing ritual required before praying, is the first step in each prayer.
Ntabazalila said that while the elderly husband was busy with the cleansing ritual in the bathroom, his wife was seated on the bed reciting passages from the Holy Quran before they would pray Fajr at 4.30am that day.
ALSO READ: Murder witness shot dead outside Lenasia Magistrate's Court
The Dennis' normally open the sliding door of their flatlet so that their daughter or grandchildren could join the prayers or come in.
Kulsoem Dennis heard the voice of an intruder asking where the money was in Afrikaans before brutally attacking her. The intruder struck the wife on the head, neck, and chest with a firearm.
'She chanted, 'Allahu-Akbar' (God is Great) until she hit the floor. Severely injured and in shock, she lay on the floor, pretending to be dead as her burga (headscarf) fell softly over her face and she kept her eyes closed,' Ntabazalila said.
Wife pretended to be dead
According to the NPA, the wife heard shoving noises as the attackers ransacked the room. They assaulted Hashim Ahmed Dennis as he stepped out of the bedroom.
'When it quieted down, she got up and found her husband on the floor, deceased, bleeding from various stab wounds. He had 15 stab wounds,' Ntabazalila said.
The couple's daughter heard a noise and noticed a bright light from her parents' flatlet. When she went to investigate, she was met with a knife-wielding intruder who charged at her.
ALSO READ: Five arrested after Mpumalanga police officer killed in apparent hit [UPDATE]
Ibtisaam Dennis quickly turned around and closed the sliding door to the main house, saving herself and her two children.
CCTV footage showed the two attackers sprinting back to Williams' vehicle, getting in the bakkie and driving away shortly after the attack. The daughter called the police and her sister as she discovered the home invasion and the attack on her parents.
Ntabazalila said that the police investigation identified Williams as the mastermind behind the attacks. Williams was arrested on 20 May 2020.
Mastermind behind attack was the son-in-law
Police arrested Davis on 10 June 2020. He did not provide an alibi to the investigating officer.
In aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Kortje argued that the murder was premeditated, executed with direct intent and excessive force, and committed in the context of a robbery and housebreaking. He described it as a contract killing orchestrated by the son-in-law.
'The attempted murder of Mrs Dennis involved sadistic violence against a vulnerable and elderly woman at peace during a prayer in the bedroom of her home,' Ntabazalila said.
ALSO READ: Mother who allegedly hired hitmen to murder 'drug-addict' son remains behind bars
The court sentenced Davis to:
15 years' direct imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to commit murder,
15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances,
Life imprisonment for the attempted murder of the wife,
10 years for the attempted murder of the daughter, and
Life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of the husband.
It ordered the sentences of housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder of Ibtisaam Dennis to run concurrently with the two life sentences.
Two life sentences and 15 years
The Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, praised the investigation and prosecution team's efforts to bring justice to the victims.
'It can never be overemphasised how important human life is, and the NPA will continue being vigorous in its pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,' Bell assured.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The South African

10 hours ago

• The South African

'She is still alive': Joslin Smith hope renewed

The National Prosecuting Authority has renewed hope that little Joslin Smith is still alive despite being missing for over a year. The Salanha Bay girl's disappearance has sparked a national, and even international, rescue effort. Her mother, Kelly Smith, and two others – Jacquin 'Boeta' Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn – have since been convicted and sentenced for kidnapping and child trafficking. Speaking in a webinar this week, NPA prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel shared her beliefs about Joslin Smith. Earlier this month, Swapepoel helped the state to convict Joslin's mother, Kelly Smith, the latter's boyfriend, Jacquin 'Boeta' Appollis, and their pal, Steveno van Rhyn. A life sentence for trafficking and kidnapping was handed down by Western Cape High Court judge, Nathan Erasmus. She said of the search for the missing girl: 'We have done a comprehensive search in Saldanha of all the exhibits. 'Everything that was found in all of those dunes, all the bones, all the clothing, was analysed, there were no positive DNA results found on anything. She continued: 'I'm convinced that she is still alive. However, I don't know where she is. I can only hope we find her.' Will Kelly Smith ever reveal where her daughter Joslin is? The Saldanha Bay girl went missing on 19 February 2024. Images via YouTube screenshot: SABC Swanepoel added that Joslin's case was the first prosecution she had worked on where the missing child had not been found. She added that much of the case hung on the state witness Lourentia Lombaard. The NPA was also banking on the possibility that Joslin's mother would testify. 'We were always hopeful during the trial that the accused would come and testify in the main trial. The plan was to destroy their credibility and demonstrate the improbabilities in their versions. Yes, their decision to remain silent, especially Kelly, was very disappointing,' she added. Meanwhile, Joslin's mother Kelly Smith as well as Appollis and van Rhyn have filed their notices this week for leave to appeal their convictions and sentences. The NPA are also awaiting the fate of the state witness Lourentia Lombaard, whose verdict will be announced by Judge Erasmus at an appointed date. A 204 inquiry will determine if Lombaard will be granted indemnity based on her testimony. If the court does find that Lombaard did not testify truthfully, she could face prosecution for perjury and related charges. Lombaard previously stated under oath that Joslin's mother, Kelly Smith, allegedly sold her to a sangoma for R20 000. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.

IOL News

11 hours ago

• IOL News

How the Correctional Services plans to allocate R1. 2 billion for prisoner food provision

The Department of Correctional Services has placed the provision of food for prisoners as one of the top four cost drivers of its budget after compensation of employees, property payments, and public-private partnership support. Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers The Department of Correctional Services has allocated R1.2 billion for the provision of food for its more than 100,000 prisoners in the 2025/26 financial year, Minister Pieter Groenewald said. Responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Betty Diale, Groenewald said the department spent R1.4 billion on the provision of food on prisoners in 2023/24 financial year. The amount had increased to R1.5 billion in the last financial year that ended in March 2025. 'For the 2025/26 financial year, the department allocated R1,286,972,000 for the provision of nutrition to inmates,' he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading In its 2025-2030 strategic plan, the department places the provision of food for prisoners as one of the top four cost drivers of its budget after compensation of employees, property payments, and public-private partnership support. The document puts the provision for food to the tune of R952,975. Groenewald also said the department planned to maximise the utilisation of the services of the prisoners to produce food for themselves, to enable the department to redirect funds to other essential programmes. He said the prisoners will participate in the production workshops in agriculture to maximise their skills utilisation for bread and agricultural production for their ration. 'The self-sufficiency and sustainability programme in the department is centred around offender development, through the provision of work opportunities to offenders in bakeries and agriculture. Expansion of bakeries and agricultural projects towards an increase in offender skills utilisation for food production,' he said. The department's strategic plan document states that the department wants to become self-sustainable through activities such as those in production workshops, bakeries, agriculture, skills development, formal education and training, as well as through arts and culture. 'The department will expand marketing of production workshops' products and services to other client departments to improve revenue generation.' Meanwhile, Groenewald revealed that the cost per capita per inmate incarcerated for the 2025/26 financial year is R462.13 per day. Asked how his department managed financial implications for imprisonment of foreign nationals, he said there were 13,181 sentenced foreign nationals in prisons as at May 4 this year. 'The total cost to accommodate 13,181 sentenced foreign nationals on 4 May 2025 was R6,091,335.53 per day.' He stated that foreign national prisoners were not a separate category of inmates. Groenewald added that there were currently no bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries to transfer sentenced foreign national prisoners to serve in their countries of origin. 'The DCS is in consultation with the South African Police Service, Department of Home Affairs, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and Department of International Relations and Cooperation to formalise a South African procedure to inter-state transfer of offenders.'

eNCA

14 hours ago

• eNCA

Katlego Bereng's mother pleads for justice

BLOEMFONTEIN - A grieving mother is desperate to know why her son died, and why his body ended up in Thabo Bester's cell. Katlego Bereng's body was planted in the cell as part of the rapist and murderer's elaborate escape. The NPA dropped charges of murder against the accused in the Bester escape due to insufficient evidence. But Bereng's mother is convinced those in the dock killed her son. The state is alleging that Nandipha Magudumana claimed Bereng's body under false pretences, with the help of Zimbabwean Zanda Moyo. A post-mortem report said Bereng died of unnatural causes. His family hopes the trial will reveal how he died.