A Cape Town man was recently sentenced to 23 years behind bars for the murder of his 72-year-old father, Western Cape police said on Thursday.

Jonathan Schapira, 31, was handed the sentence in the Western Cape High Court after being found guilty of planning his father, Stanley’s, death.

Police were called to the Schapira home in Zeekoevlei on November 23, 2016 following Stanley’s death.

“Detective Sergeant Ricardo Goldsmith received information that the accused had planned to kill his father, because [he] was going to disown him out of his will,” spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said.

An autopsy, however, revealed that the elderly man had not died of natural causes.

“It was established that [he] was actually strangled to death.”

In his plea agreement, however, Jonathan claimed that an acquaintance had killed his father, although he had not informed the authorities of this at the time.

Police confirmed that a second suspect had been arrested last Thursday in connection with the case.

The 31-year-old man is currently being detained at Pollsmoor prison after making his first court appearance on a murder charge on Monday.