Cody Lynton Houghton. Picture: Facebook Cody Lynton Houghton. Picture: Facebook
Durban - Two men who hung a teenager upside down in a tattoo parlour and assaulted him for allegedly stealing a cellphone were found guilty of negligently causing his death.
Cody Lynton Houghton, 19, and two of his friends were allegedly falsely accused of stealing a cellphone from the tattoo parlour in Watsonia Road in Bluff on February 24, 2017.
They were allegedly kidnapped on February 24, assaulted and thereafter released. Houghton died the following morning. He was declared dead on arrival in hospital. He died from a blunt force trauma to the head. His two friends survived the attack.
Accused Brandon Ashley Peterson, 37, Neville van der Westhuizen, 37, and Richard Juan Elliot, 23, were arrested and charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of kidnapping.
At the start of the judgment this week Peterson failed to appear in court. A warrant of arrest was issued for him.
Westhuizen and Elliot were however convicted of culpable homicide, assault with intent to do bodily grievous harm and kidnapping.
They were sentenced to an effective 15 years behind bars.
During aggravation of sentencing State Prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay desribed the assault as "senseless".
She asked for a lengthy period of imprisonment.
In passing sentence Magistrate Anand Maharaj said:
"The loss of a child is difficult and painful for any parent to bear, you feel pain in places you never knew existed."
Maharaj quoted philosopher Edmund Burke “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
"In this case a young life was lost because people chose inaction over action."