Hired beggar ducked out of killing man’s wife​

A 28-year-old man appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges related to the attempted murder of his wife.

Michael-Dean Merrington is alleged to have conspired to murder his wife of three years, Aldrige, 35. He is also believed to have solicited the assistance of 20-year-old Glen Cona, a beggar – who he met at traffic lights in Kibler Park, Joburg.

The two had a brief appearance before magistrate Jan van den Heuvel, where the date for a formal bail application was set – February 27. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and assault with the intent of causing grievous bodily harm.

Initially, Cona had refused to have legal representation provided for him by the State. He had elected to defend himself. Yesterday, Cona confirmed he would now be utilising legal aid.

It is believed Merrington met Cona and asked him to kill his wife for R10 000. But when the time came to act, Cona was unable to go through with it.

According to Aldrige, who was speaking outside the court, her husband had always been loving towards her until she changed the details of who would benefit from the life policies she had taken out.

“On February 5, I decided to update my policies, and I made my husband the beneficiary. If I die, he would get R2.3 million in insurance payouts. And then last Thursday, I find myself in this,” she said.

In a separate case before the court, three men appeared, charged with the murder of Palm Ridge businessman and philanthropist Ephraim Mdaka and Ekurhuleni metro police department officer Sabelo Ngwenya.

The three suspects are charged with two counts of murder, and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The men are alleged to have stormed into one of Mdaka’s businesses and attempted to rob them.

While the robbery was in progress, Mdaka was alerted to the incident and came to his store. He was shot shortly afterwards.

Officer Ngwenya attempted to capture the offenders and he was also shot.

The hearing was attended by a large crowd of people, including members of the football club that Mdaka supported and the local ANC branch.

For most of the morning, they picketed outside court, armed with placards demanding justice for the two slain men. The gallery was packed with relatives, colleagues and supporters.

The bail hearing was postponed to March 8 for further investigations.