Emotional closure for Previn Pillay's family as 'suitcase killers' receive life sentences
Previn Pillay, 23, whose tragic murder led to the sentencing of the 'suitcase killers,' remembered by his father, Dennis Pillay, as a bright young man with a promising future.
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The father of murdered 29-year-old Previn Pillay says justice has finally been served after the men known as the “suitcase killers” were sentenced for the brutal crime that left his family shattered.
Previn’s father, Dennis Pillay, originally from KwaZulu-Natal, said that the family welcomes the sentences handed down in the Western Cape High Court on March 12, nearly five years after his son’s murder in December 2020, after leaving his home in his Toyota Hilux bakkie.
A week after Previn’s disappearance, police were called to Hazendal train station in Athlone, where a burning suitcase containing the young man’s dismembered body was discovered.
Following the gruesome discovery, police arrested Riefaat Loofer, Glenville Jansen, and Franklin van Niekerk.
Loofer was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery, and 15 years for defeating or obstructing the administration of justice. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Jansen was also sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, while Van Niekerk was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for theft.
Dad Dennis said the past five years have been extremely difficult for the family, especially after the convicted killers revealed no details of their crime in court.
He said: “Given the fact that they didn’t confess to what they did and that we don’t know what went on, it’s painful. Unfortunately, we have to live with that, unless they come back at a later stage and say what they did.
“The past five years have been an understatement as the pain was really painful as we underwent a lot of trauma when someone takes the life of your own child away.”
He added that his son had a bright future ahead of him after completing a BSc in Biodiversity at the University of the Western Cape.
Dennis said: “For nine years, he was our only child and the apple of our eye. To see that taken away from us is something that is very difficult to deal with.
“But justice has prevailed, and we must commend the judge, prosecutor, and detective team. We have faith in the justice system, and it has closed a chapter in our lives.”