American citizens Marcus Thomas and Kevan Townsend received effective jail terms of 30 and 29 years, respectively, when they were sentenced in the Windhoek High Court on Thursday.
Judge Christie Liebenberg sentenced the two men, convicted of murdering and robbing the Andre Heckmair (25) in Windhoek on 7 January 2011, to 27 years’ imprisonment each on a charge of murder, and an effective jail term of two years each on a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Thomas also received a further jail term of one year on a count of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.
Thomas (38) and Townsend (37) travelled from the United States to Namibia near the end of 2010 to carry out a plan to murder Heckmair, who was killed when he was shot in the head while in a car in Windhoek.
While the motive for the murder has remained unclear, Heckmair was at the time of his death in a romantic relationship with a woman who had previously been involved in a relationship with Thomas.
Thomas and Townsend have both been held in custody since their arrest at a Windhoek guest house on the evening of 7 January 2011.
Read more in the next edition of The Namibian.
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