Life imprisonment for South African woman who conspired with lesbian lover to murder her husband for insurance policy

The Durban High Court in South Africa on Thursday sentenced a 44-year-old woman, Analidia Dias Bella Dos Santos to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband in February 2018. 

 

 

Santos’s accomplice, Charmaine Khumalo (48) was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. 

 

 

National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Regional Spokesperson, KZN Division, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, in a statement on Friday, April 5, 2024, said Dosantos was further convicted for defeating the administration of justice. 

 

 

Dosantos’ lesbian lover and co-accused, Teagen Allison Brown died before the trial. 

 

 

Dosantos plotted with her lover, Brown to kill her husband, Mark Buttle and the plan was executed with the help of Brown’s neighbour, Khumalo. 

 

 

An insurance policy is said to be the motive behind the murder coupled with the fact that Dosantos was having an affair with Brown, who was 25. 

 

 

Buttle was stabbed 53 times in the neck, by the three women, while in his car. 

 

 

This was after he had allegedly been lured to the scene by Dosantos, under the pretext of working through marital issues. 

 

“The deceased, Mark Buttle, and Dosantos were married to each other and during their marriage, Buttle had acquired life insurance policies where Dosantos was the beneficiary,” the statement read. 

 

“She was aware of at least one of these policies. At some point, their marriage broke down and Dosantos left their marital home and moved in with Brown, and they began an extramarital relationship. 

 

“The two women planned to kill Buttle so that Dosantos could collect his life insurance. They enlisted the assistance of their neighbour, Khumalo.

 

“On the day of the incident, Dosantos lured Buttle to the Newlands East area under the pretence of them rekindling their marriage. They drank wine together and engaged in sexual intercourse. 

 

“Thereafter, when Buttle was in a vulnerable state, he was stabbed 53 times. Dosantos then ran to a nearby house saying that she and her husband had been hijacked. The women were arrested after police investigations uncovered messages on their phones, relating to the planning of Buttle’s murder.

 

“In aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Khatija Essack presented the court with a Victim Impact Statement compiled by Buttle’s father and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Nadi Mofokeng. 

 

“In his statement, the man said that losing a grown child was such a tragedy. He said that his wife’s health had declined following their son’s death. Dosantos was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 05 years imprisonment for defeating the administration of justice (reporting the false hijacking). 

 

“In sentencing Khumalo, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment saying that she was not the mastermind of the murder and that she had co-operated with police upon her arrest. Khumalo was thus sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for murder.