MARLOTH PARK – The Lowveld was rocked by yet another two murders last week, when a man and woman were killed in a house in Seekoei Street.
It is believed that Koenraad Collier (53) was originally from Brazil. He was the owner of Chilatana Guest House in Catembe, Mozambique.
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The female victim was Alberta van der Meer (75) from the Netherlands. Collier, his wife Edda van den Berg (53) and her mother Edda Seifert (80), along with Van der Meer arrived at their home in Marloth Park during the day.
It is understood that some men arrived asking for piece work. Some of these men were known by Collier as they have done work for him previously. He went outside to speak to them and was overpowered. According to Jaco Badenhorst, spokesman for the family, all four people were strangled and tied up. It is believed that the attackers thought all four were dead when they left the scene. Seifert managed to remove the adhesive tape on the floor. She pushed the panic button at around 22:15. Securicon and SAPS teams rushed to the premises. On their arrival they found that Collier and Van der Meer had sadly passed away. It is believed that the cause of their deaths was suffocation.
Securicon EMS treated the two women on the scene and then transported them to a hospital in Mbombela. Gerhard Coetzer from Securicon said there was no sign of forced entry. Cash, jewellery, alcohol, cellphones and gold coins were missing from the premises. According to Coetzer they believe that there were five attackers. Four of the suspects are known to them and SAPS are in pursuit. The SAPS picked up a signal of one of the cellphones at the Lebombo border post this week. It is believed that they fled to Mozambique because they rented a place in Marloth Park and the place is abandoned. They had not been arrested at the time of going to press.
Robyn Baard, patient experience manager at the hospital in Mbombela, said they did not wish to speak to the media at this time. The two patients who were discharged last weekend and at the time of going to press could not be reached.
SAPS provincial spokesman, Brig Leonard Hlathi, urged anyone with information of the whereabouts of the suspects that may assist in tracing them to contact Sergeant Vusi Thobela on 082-4490-242 or the SAPS Crime Stop number 086-0010-111.
Linda Grimbeek, chief operating officer of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) said they were shocked and dismayed.
“The fact that it happened in a tourism area is a great concern, but we don’t know if it was a tourist-related attack.
“We have activated our victim support programme and will follow up on the investigation to see what measures can be implemented to prevent such future incidents.”
