Roger and Christine Solik's South African killer gets life

Roger and Christine Solik emigrated to South Africa in the early 1980s

A man has been jailed for life for the murders of a Welsh couple who had emigrated to South Africa.

Roger and Christine Solik's hands and legs were tied and they had pillow cases over their heads when they were thrown off a bridge into a river.

Xolani Brian Ndlovu, 38, was given two life sentences after admitting their murders at Pietermaritzburg High Court.

A second man, Thulani Moses Mthembu, 43, denies the charges and his trial continues.

The Soliks, who emigrated from Abercynon, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, in the 1980s, were found dead after being attacked at their home in the KwaZulu-Natal area of South Africa - about 100 miles (160km) from Durban - on 17 February.

'Brutal'

Mrs Solik, 57, was found dead in the river 45 miles from their home. She had drowned, but had also been stabbed and suffered multiple other injuries.

The body of her husband, 66, was discovered the next day in the same river. A post-mortem examination found he probably died of asphyxiation.

Ndlovu was sentenced to a further 10 years for kidnapping and 15 years for house robbery.

KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner Maj Gen Langa said he hoped the sentences would "give closure to the family who lost their loved ones in a brutal manner".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, their son Gregory - also writing on behalf of his siblings - described the time since the murders as "disorientating, painful and beyond comprehension".

Xolani Brian Ndlovu (left) admitted the murders but Thulani Moses Mthembu pleaded not guilty