Double murder follows foiled attempt at stock theft near Vryheid
"One of the men believed to have been behind the ambush was caught a week later and once he was taken for questioning, he was able to point out where the guard's body was hidden"
The Shoba/Ezinyambe communities were left shook after a stock theft ploy ended in a violent double murder incident.
The SAPS’ Colonel Zwane confirmed that two cases of murder have been opened with the Vryheid SAPS and that some arrests have been made following a foiled stock theft incident in the area.
The SAPS reported that on the evening of March 21, a group of men set out to steal sheep from a homestead in the Shoba area, but things did not go as they had planned.
“From what was reported to us, it seems that this was not the first time that these robbers had targeted this particular home to steal sheep. This had occurred so often that the owner of the livestock had hired someone to guard the sheep at night as a means to curb further theft incidents,” explained Col. Zwane.
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On the night in question, the men set out to the particular home but were stopped in their tracks when the owner of the livestock made a noise and called out for neighbours to come out and help him as he was being robbed.
“The men then fled the scene as they heard the neighbours approaching but must have hidden nearby to monitor the place as it was reported that they came back as soon as the neighbours went back to their homes,” said Col Zwane.
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When the men returned, a struggle is said to have ensued and although the police can not yet confirm what exactly happened, the next morning, the body of an unidentified man was found in the livestock owner’s yard with stab wounds.
It is suspected that the robbers may have turned on one another.
“The man that had been hired to guard the sheep was also nowhere to be found, only his boots were found strewn along the road and trails of blood remained behind. One of the men believed to have been behind the ambush was caught a week later and once he was taken for questioning, he was able to point out where the guard’s body was hidden,” Col. Zwane said.
Col. Zwane said that this is a developing case and they are still looking into making more arrests.
