Latest news with #Northpine
IOL News
17 hours ago
- IOL News
Brutal murder of Northpine grandfather leads to life sentences for attackers
Hashim Dennis, 75, was washing before prayers when the robbers struck. Image: Supplied The killer who murdered Northpine grandfather Hashim Dennis has been sentenced to two life terms. Reagan Davids was convicted by the Western Cape High Court in March for his role in the brutal murder of the 75-year-old and the attempted murder of his wife, the then-69-year-old Kulsoem, at their Northpine granny flat in January 2020. Daughter Ibtisaam Williams said her traumatised mother Kulsoem rushed into the main house, covered in blood, shortly after 4am to say their father had been stabbed and beaten to death. The grandmother survived by playing dead after she was stabbed and Ibtisaam also escaped with her life after being attacked by an unknown second intruder in the main house. During the investigation, it was established that the attackers had been hired by Ibtisaam's husband Brent Williams to kill his in-laws and make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Although Williams and Davids denied any involvement in the attacks, Williams was captured on the CCTV surveillance cameras dropping off the two men close to his home on the morning of the attack. Williams died shortly before the conclusion of his murder trial, while the third perpetrator is still unknown. Davids was found guilty for housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of attempted murder and murder. He was sentenced to life for the murder of Hashim Dennis and the attempted murder of his wife, while he got 10 years for attempted murder of Williams' wife and 15 years each for his other crimes. He will effectively serve 40 years, as the South African Police Service praised the work that put Davids away. They said in a statement: 'The suspects attacked the wife's parents, fatally stabbing the father-in-law. The wife who was running late that morning, heard the commotion and managed to lock the suspects outside the main house. 'They fled the scene over the garage roof and were picked up by Brent Williams nearby. 'Following an intensive investigation led by Detective Captain C. Louw and Detective Sergeant T. Rapiya, both Williams and Davids were arrested and charged. 'Williams died in custody in February 2025 due to a heart attack and the case proceeded against Davids alone.'
CBC
26-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Philanthropist couple investing up to $2M in The Gathering Place — but it comes with strings
The Gathering Place is getting an investment of up to $2 million to help vulnerable people get long-term and sustainable housing — but the St. John's shelter has to hit predetermined targets in order to receive the donation. The Gathering Place's executive director Paul Davis says he's been in talks for nearly three years with the Northpine Foundation, a Toronto-based private philanthropic organization funded by married couple Cathy and John Phillips. "The agreement with Northpine is up to $2 million in an investment. And is really based on, as we house people, then the funds flow from Northpine to The Gathering Place," Davis told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. "It's a really interesting model that Northpine has created where they don't invest in infrastructure per se or gardens or particular programs. They invest in organizations and they measure the success of those investments based on outcomes." In this case, the investment is going toward permanent housing for shelter residents. The Gathering Place currently employs housing managers that help people find places to live, and just opened an expansion containing affordable housing units, Mercy House, a few months ago. Typically, guests start off by staying within The Gathering Place's shelter system. Once they're stabilized, they're moved into transitional housing, where they can start building skills that will help them become more independent and less reliant on organizations. "From there you can move to our supportive housing units, which are on the 3rd and 4th floor of Mercy House, or even into the community," said Davis. "Those changes are creating outcomes. And that's how Northpine operates — on providing investments and organizations like The Gathering Place, who can, in turn, provide outcomes." Those outcomes are tracked through a reporting mechanism on the Northpine website. The Gathering Place will be evaluated on the number of people who move to an independent living arrangement, either at Mercy House or within the community. If the non-profit doesn't meet that target, it won't receive funding. According to the Northpine Foundation website, money began flowing to The Gathering Place in May 2024. As of January, its financial contribution has helped 29 people transition to supportive and permanent housing, according to Northpine. Money put to use John Phillips said he was an early investor in Shopify, an Ottawa-headquartered e-commerce platform, which gave the couple a large financial boost. "That investment has, needless to say, rocketed and has given us these opportunities," he told CBC News. He also said that investment was one of "several ships" that came in for them. Cathy Phillips said they wanted to put that money to good use and help people. "The purpose of Northpine is to give back to our community. We came into this wealth. It's more than we need. We want to get that moving to make a difference to the people who need it most. Basically, that's Northpine in a nutshell." John Phillips said they don't see the funding as "donations" but as investments and opportunities to give people "a chance to improve their lot." "The Gathering Place is a superb opportunity to do that," he said. Demand growing Davis said the demand for The Gathering Place's services has continued to rise. "When I came here just four years ago, 250, 280 meals a day was a lot. 300 meals was, 'Oh my goodness, we had 300 meals or 300 for lunch,'" he said. Now, he said 300 is no longer unusual, adding there have been days when they've fed 600 people. Davis added staff are also seeing increasingly complex cases, too. "The availability of drug supply ... has changed society and changed communities," he said.
