The man alleged to be responsible for the brutal farm attack that caused the death of popular retired Glendale Heights farmer Bob Gawler in July has finally been arrested.
Alpha Security’s investigation division – led by Rex Hunt – conducted an intensive manhunt over several months leading to the arrest on Saturday, October 21.
Also read: Elderly farmer killed in Glendale Heights
“Through paid informants we were able to track down the suspect’s cellphone number,” said Hunt.
Working together with the SA Community Action Network, he and his team were then able to track the phone and locate the fugitive’s hiding spot.
Hunt said the man had also been linked to another murder in Glendale where he had allegedly attacked a woman with a panga.
“We embarked on an undercover operation and managed to flush the suspect out of hiding, after which he was arrested by members of the KwaDukuza Task Team and SAPS.”
Hunt said it was particularly reassuring to know this man was caught as his modus operandi suggested he would have continued to commit violent crimes.
They are still searching for one of the suspect’s accomplices in the attack. It is believed the suspect in custody was the mastermind behind the attack, as he had previously worked on the Gawlers’ farm.
Gawler’s son-in-law Ricky Pissarra said the family were relieved to hear that this man had been caught.
“It makes us feel like there may be some light at the end of the tunnel, though closure is still a long way off given that we know there is still another man out there.”
Raymond Rogers, a farmer in the Compensation area and former cluster chairman helped set up a fund to offer rewards for information that led to the arrest.
“We got a lot of support, both from within the farming community and without and this money went towards helping the investigating team uncover the truth.”
Rogers said while it was great news that the killer had been apprehended, farmers were all too aware that there are many more criminals like him out there.
Bob Gawler was killed on the evening of July 28 when a group of armed men kicked down the door to their farm house before beating him and shooting him in the stomach.
His wife Denise was tied to the bed. The pair were only discovered at 9am the next morning, by which time Bob had died.
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