Chilling notes lead to Port Elizabeth couple’s bodies

Five handwritten notes laid out neatly on a diningroom table were the only clues left after a Port Elizabeth man allegedly killed his wife, stuffed her body in a chest freezer and hanged himself days later in his garage.

The grisly discovery of the bodies was made yesterday after neighbours spotted two notes stuck to the patio window and glass door of the couple’s Sherwood townhouse – one of which instructed anyone passing by to call the police.

Martin van der Merwe, 64, allegedly killed his wife Jenny, 67, with a hammer last week and stored her body in a freezer in the garage.

The bodies of the two childless pensioners were found in the garage of their Everwood Complex townhouse in Worthing Street shortly after 7.30am.

Police described the scene as a “bizarre murder-suicide”.

One of the notes on the window read: “Pls [Please] do not come in. Phone SAP. Front door keys in our post box at front gate.”

Van der Merwe, in an alleged handwritten confession, spelt out how he had killed his wife on Monday last week and stored her body in the chest freezer in the garage.

Police said five A5 pages of notes had been left in the house.

Van der Merwe’s body was found hanging from a roof beam while his wife’s, wrapped in black plastic sheeting, was on the back of an open Corsa bakkie.

By 10am, a small group of curious neighbours had gathered outside the townhouse.

Mount Road Cluster commander Major-General Thembisile Patekile and Kabega Park Station commander Colonel Tony Nomdoe were also at the scene.

Everwood Complex body corporate chairwoman Maureen van der Linde said she had been at home when she received a picture via WhatsApp of the note on the patio door, which had been taken by a resident leaving for work.

“I got dressed and walked up to their [Van der Merwes’] house.

“I saw the note and cold shivers went down my spine. I called the police straight away,” she said.

“When they arrived, I showed them the note and we then went to the post box.

“I have access to the post box so I opened it and found the front door keys inside.

“We then went to the house and the police went inside.

“They called me to come inside when they found several pages of handwritten notes on the table.

“I looked at it briefly and saw that he admitted to killing her.

“The police official then opened the garage door and slammed it shut straight away.

“That is when I ran out of the house.”

Van der Linde said the note talked about financial problems, which are believed to have led to the tragedy.

“I am still shocked by this. It has still not hit me yet,” she said a few hours later.

“I knew them, but they kept mostly to themselves.

“They were very friendly and whenever they saw me, they would wave and stop to chat.

“I never thought something like this would happen.

“There were no signs whatsoever, they seemed very normal.”

Officials close to the probe confirmed that the notes, thought to have been written by Van der Merwe, explained that he had killed his wife on Monday last week.

“The notes detailed how he kept her body in the chest freezer.

“It then states he went to Storms River sometime in the past week, presumably to commit suicide, but then came back to the house.”

The official said Van der Merwe had placed his house keys in the post box late on Sunday night and had then stuck the notes on the patio glass.

“He then locked himself inside the house, placed a small stepladder inside the garage and hanged himself close to her body.”

According to police, the couple had moved to Port Elizabeth from Gauteng in 2014.

The notes also left the contact details of two relatives for police to notify.

According to police, Jenny had most likely died from blunt-force trauma to the head caused by a hammer, which was found on the back of the bakkie.

“The [alleged] murder weapon was left on the bakkie next to her body, in a plastic packet,” the official said.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said police forensic experts were still gathering evidence yesterday afternoon

“At this stage, the cause of death of [Jenny] is suspected to be from injuries to the head, but this will only be determined after a postmortem.

“A preliminary investigation suggests that the woman was murdered by her husband, who committed suicide afterwards,” she said.

Janse van Rensburg confirmed that several notes had been found, but said the contents would not be released.

“The notes have been taken as evidence together with other items inside the house.

“Our forensic team will go through this evidence to corroborate what is written in these notes,” she said.

Janse van Rensburg said the notes would also be sent to a handwriting expert to confirm whether they had been written by Van der Merwe.

She said his brother was expected to arrive in Port Elizabeth today from Johannesburg.

Residents gathered outside the townhouse said the couple had largely kept to themselves.