From the news desk

State to oppose bail for elderly Cape Town murder suspect

Share this article

The State has indicated it will oppose bail for a 79-year-old man accused of killing a man on his Athlone property.

The man made a brief appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday and is being held in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison because of his age, his attorney William Booth told News24.

According to police, the man was arrested shortly after he reported an attempted break-in at his Hazendal home on Friday.

He reportedly claimed that he discharged two rounds at an the alleged perpetrator during the attempted burglary.

The suspect apparently managed to flee the scene.

Officers took a statement from him and confiscated the firearm.

Police were later alerted to a body concealed on the man’s property. A search led to the discovery of the body of a 39-year-old man in the backyard.

Authorities would not confirm if the body was that of the reported would-be burglar, saying the circumstances were still under investigation.

In addition, 25 firearms comprising various makes and calibres of pistols, rifles and revolvers, as well as 700 rounds of ammunition were discovered.

Only eight of the firearms were licensed in the suspect’s name, police said, and the man was also unable to account for the loss of two of his own firearms.

Booth said the State had not yet supplied him with details of why they were opposing bail.

The accused, a businessman who owns a number of properties in the area, was a first-time offender, he said.

The bail application is scheduled for December 22. News24


Share this article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

WhatsApp WhatsApp us
Wait a sec, saving restore vars.