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Shocking twist in Pietermaritzburg businesswoman murder case
There are now two crime scenes that police are working with.
Picture: iStock
The arrest of a 37-year-old suspect in connection with the murder of Kavitha Nerputh has come as a shocking twist to friends and family of the businesswoman.
Police arrested Simphiwe Mweli last Thursday and on Monday charged him with murder.
In a dramatic twist, sources close to the matter have indicated that police have linked Mweli to Nerputh but are following multiple theories in terms of the motive for killing, one of them being that Nerputh may have contracted her killer to end her life but wanted it to appear as a straight-forward murder, reports the Public Eye Maritzburg.
Mweli has not made an official confession.
However, as much as the arrest is a significant development, it also raises many questions:
1. Did the suspect kill Nerputh for another unknown reason?
2. What was the relationship between the suspect and Nerputh?
What Public Eye has learnt is that there are now two crime scenes that police are working with – one at the Alexandra Park where Nerputh’s body was found in her Audi Q7 and the other being the suspect’s derelict home in Prince Alfred Street. The distance between the two crime scenes is under a kilometre apart.
A team of specialists from the Laboratories Criminal Record and Crime Scene (LCRA) were at the property today collecting evidence. Police are also awaiting an outstanding DNA report that will also hopefully shed light on the businesswoman’s final hours and help answer the question of her whereabouts just before she was murdered – was she at the property in Prince Alfred Street? If she was at the property, did she go there willingly and why?
Also read: Pietermaritzburg businesswoman found murdered in her car
On Monday, family and friends of Nerputh gathered for her 13-day ceremony. Family declined to comment on the latest developments. A close friend of Nerputh said she cannot come to terms with the possibility that Nerputh had a hand in her own death but added that the latest development was like a “bolt from the sky”.
“This just adds an entirely new dimension with no one really knowing what is going on. Everything is so confusing and bewildering. We just have to wait for the task team to get to the bottom of this case. But we are relieved there has been a development. We all need to know what happened,” said the friend.
State prosecutor Rene Padayachee opposed bail saying the state feared for the safety of witness, and that the suspect had no known alternate/family abode. The house he lives in is a derelict building opposite public works in Prince Alfred Street known to house vagrants and drug users.
The detectives who have been working around the clock in the matter are Captain BZ Vilakazi from Umgungundlovu South Cluster detective team; Sgt Mzobe who is also from Alex SAPS and Captain Rumen Maistry from Crime Intelligence. All declined to comment and referred Public Eye to the provincial SAPS office for further comment.
