The case against the five men who raped and killed Cytheria Rex has once again been postponed, this time for outstanding reports.

The five men, who were convicted, made a brief appearance in the Strand Magistrate’s Court for the rape and murder of the teen.

The 17-year-old was murdered on February 21, 2009.

After more than 115 postponements and almost 16 years later, Virgil Sass, Oswill Grootboom, Imeraan Hendricks, Lee Cloete, and Rhonwan Rhode were convicted in November 2024.

They were expected to be sentenced in the Strand Regional Court on Friday, but the State said there were outstanding documents - the probation officer’s and social worker’s reports that had to be presented in court.

In the court filled with the killers’ supporters, they were informed that the case would be transferred back to Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court.

They will all be back on March 12 for the reports.

Cytheria was murdered on February 21, 2009, and her body was discovered the following morning, concealed in a wheelie bin in Kraaifontein.

In November 2024, five men were found guilty of her rape and murder, with all seven initially accused individuals placed at the crime scene.

Two of the accused, Warren Robertson and Keenan Lewis, have since died.

The men’s fate was sealed by crucial DNA evidence and a witness’s testimony, which detailed how the perpetrators dragged Cytheria’s body down the passage of the house where they had been partying and placed it inside the wheelie bin.

When the victim’s mom, Jacqueline, previously heard her daughter’s murderers would be sentenced on February 21, she had told the ‘Cape Argus’ she found peace in God’s plan to sentence them on the anniversary of Cytheria’s death.

“God plans, He decides. On the day that she died, he knew "the very same day, they would be imprisoned. Our God is favourable. He is a God of justice and righteousness.

“He knew that we would celebrate on the day that she died because this will be the day that they (her killers) will cry. We cried our cries, we had our tears, and our tears are gone now, on the day I cried, they were crying. God knew, he knew this was going to happen.”

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za