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- A 19-year-old man has admitted to tying up an elderly Bloemfontein woman before setting her house on fire.
- The victim, Anna Herbst, sold pancakes at a local butchery.
- Three men broke into her home, stole her money box, and left her behind in the burning house.
One of the men found guilty of murdering a Bloemfontein woman who was affectionately known as the "pannekoektannie" (pancake lady) was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.
Volksblad reported that 66-year-old Anna Herbst died in a house fire on her smallholding in Martindale in July last year.
In a plea bargain, Lehlenolo Gift Hans, 19, reportedly admitted to Judge Fouché Jordaan that he was responsible for her death after leaving her tied up in the burning house.
Hans' co-accused, Thabo Ntholeng, 20, and Mpho Mateu, 19, will reportedly appear in the Free State High Court in October.
Maroela Media reported that Herbst's body was found on 6 July last year. She had reportedly lived alone, following the death of her husband.
According to TimesLIVE, Herbst was well known in the city for the pancakes she sold at local butchery, D&J Meat.
Volksblad reported that Hans told the court how the men planned to rob Herbst since she lived alone. They reportedly found money, about R4 000, in a money box in Herbst's car and went inside her house, where she was found asleep. They reportedly tied her up and Hans set fire to the house.
Hans told the court they used the money to buy clothes, alcohol and to have a "good time" in taverns.
D&J Meat, where Herbst sold her pancakes, said on its Facebook page that it was saddened by her death.
"The unbelief and inability to do or change anything about it is overwhelming. Tannie Anna, the elderly woman, loved her house and never wanted to move from it. There is no justification that she had to die for it," the butchery posted.
- Compiled by Riaan Grobler
