Sello Kwena says Bylsma's sentencing will undeniably send a clear message to the perpetrators of gender based violence, adding violent crimes against women will not be tolerated - and that those who carry out such deeds will be shown no mercy.

Bylsma's sentencing comes amidst the country's commemoration of Women’s Month - which seeks to recognise the plights and achievements of women.

OFM News earlier reported The North West High Court in Mmabatho sentenced Bylsma on Friday, as he was found guilty of double murder after he killed his ex-girlfriend, Sharnelle Hough (17) and her best friend Marna Engelbrecht (16), on 26 May 2018.

Bylsma was arrested on the same day, after the two girls were found to strangled to death in the hostel of Hoërskool Stella.

The girls’ bodies were found in the early hours of that Saturday morning by the hostel matron. Hough’s body was found hanging from the rails of the staircase in the hostel. The matron alerted the school management and the incident was reported to the police.

Kwena says: "Upon crime scene investigation, the police discovered Engelbrecht's body with a string around her neck at the hostel's bathroom. Subsequent to the intensive investigation Bylsma, who was Hough’s ex-boyfriend, was arrested and he has been incarcerated since his arrest."

OFM News