Father and son found dead inside house

A father and son were found dead in what appears to be a hit-style double murder on the outskirts of Uitenhage.

Lourens Dingani, 58, and his son Lorenzo, 23, were found dead in their house in the Joe Slovo informal settlement near Uitenhage at about 8pm on Monday.

They were last seen alive on Sunday afternoon.

The reason for the double murder has police baffled as nothing appears to be stolen and neither the victims were linked to a gang nor were they state witnesses.

The two latest victims bring to three the number of people found killed execution style, in two separate incidents, on the outskirts of Uitenhage since the weekend.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said the discovery came after a relative, Lourens’s nephew, was sent to the house to deliver a message.

“He got to the house and found the door standing slightly ajar. He then went inside and saw both the father and son dead on the floor in the lounge.”

Nkohli said the alarm was raised and police were alerted shortly after the discovery.

“There was no sign of forced entry on the house and nothing appears to be missing. The house also did not appear to be ransacked,” he said.

Nkohli said Lourens had two gunshot wounds to the head while Lorenzo had one gunshot to the head.

“They appear to have been killed at close range however we are awaiting the post-mortem report to get more details and clarity,” he said.

“The murder weapon was also not found on the scene.”

Police forensic experts spent hours on the scene gathering evidence to assist with identifying the culprits.

“We do not know if it was multiple attackers or only one. Residents in the vicinity also heard no noises or gunshots during the course of the day or night,” Nkohli said.

“We are waiting for the post-mortem to determine the estimate time of death but it is safe to state that they were murdered sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday night.” 

Nkohli said the relatives were to traumatised to talk to the media at this stage.

The double murder case will be investigated by Kamesh police station detectives.

In the other murder, the body of an unidentified man was found lying next to the R334 in Uitenhage at about 11:30am on Saturday.

Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said the man was found alongside the road with gunshot wounds to the head and upper body.

“Members were conducting routine visible checkpoints on the R334 when they noticed a body lying face down in the bushes next to the road. The unidentified male had multiple gunshot wounds to the head and his upper body. He had no identification in his possession,” she said.

“The male is believed to be in his 30s and is about 1,67m tall. He was wearing black trousers, black takkies and a black hoodie. “

Swart said that the motive for the murder was unknown however detectives were still trying to track down the man’s family.