Nkosinathi Khumalo, Sizwe Biyela and Vuyile Maliti pleaded not guilty to three charges - murder committed as a conspiracy, the attempted murder of Mihalik's two minor children, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. She told the three accused to sit down because the judgment would take a while.
The gallery was sparsely populated with a sister of Mihalik sitting with a friend, and Maliti's father among the tactical unit police officers guarding the court.Biyela and Maliti were camera shy, with Maliti covering his face with a hoodie and a mask and Biyela doing the same with a baseball cap whenever a camera came near them.
Mihalik died quickly from the two bullets that went through his window's middle and lower sections. His daughter screamed for help, while Mihalik's son was bleeding from a bullet fragment that hit him.