The Kareeboomvloer massacre was a 2005 mass murder on the Kareeboomvloer farm (, after the Karee tree) in the Hardap Region of Namibia, situated between Rehoboth and Kalkrand. It was the "biggest bloodbath in Namibian criminal history". Massacre and subsequent arrests On 5 March 2005 brothers Sylvester and Gavin Beukes killed eight people at the Kareeboomvloer farm: the owners, an employee and his pregnant wife, two adult members of the employee's family, and two small children. All people present on the farm on the day of the crime were killed. The attackers first shot and killed the owners Justus and Elzabé Erasmus and then executed all witnesses by first firing at them and then setting five of them alight with diesel fuel. Four of the victims were still alive when they were set on fire. The Beukes brothers then stole the farm pickup car, loaded it with rifles and goats from the farm, and hid the loot at Stoney Neidel's house in Rehoboth and on his farm Areb, situated west of Rehoboth. Gavin Beukes, Sylvester Beukes and Stoney Neidel were arrested a few days after the massacre. Sylvester Beukes admitted guilt on all counts of murder but 10 days after the murder claimed that the owners' son, Justus Christiaan "Shorty" Erasmus gave the order to kill his parents, handed a weapon and ammunition to Sylvester, and promised N$50,000 payment, as well as legal representation. Erasmus denied these accusations but was also arrested. He and Neidel were later released on bail, while the Beukes brothers remained in custody throughout the trial. Trial The proceedings were conducted in the High Court in Windhoek and lasted for over four years. The three defendants were each represented by Windhoek defense lawyers, Sylvester Beukes by Titus Lipumbu of Titus Lipumbu Legal Practitioners, Gavin Beukes by Titus Mbaeva of Mbaeva & Associates, and Boris Isaacks of Isaacks & Benz Inc represented Neidel. According to testimonies, Sylvester Beukes killed all eight people by himself whereas his brother Gavin was a bystander who was, in his own words, "at the wrong place at the wrong time". Sylvester Beukes claimed that he tied his brother Gavin to a pole so that he could only have heard, but not observed, the shooting. Forensic evidence showed, however, that Gavin Beukes was no further than away when the victims were shot. Prior to sentencing, Acting Prison Commissioner Raphael Hamunyela was called as