'Mastermind' denies being present when two were murdered

THE man who has been singled out as the mastermind behind the murders of two men in Schauderville in 2011 has denied any involvement in the crimes, saying he was not even at the scene.

Ryan Thomas testified yesterday in the Port Elizabeth High Court that while he was with Allen Dace and Bernadito Reid shortly before they were stabbed to death, he was not in the car when the stabbings occurred.

Thomas, 23, of Schauderville, and Sheldon du Plessis, 22, of North End, are charged with stabbing Dace and Reid to death in the early hours of October 30 2011. They have pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of robbery.

On Tuesday, Du Plessis told the court it was Thomas who suddenly decided to rob the two men in the vehicle while they were getting a lift from a tavern they had been visiting. -