Two arrested for Jeffreys Bay murder, robbery

Two men believed to have been responsible for the murder and robbery of a Jeffreys Bay man inside his home last week have been arrested.

Johannes Marx, 79, was found bound to a chair in the bedroom of his home in Pride of India Crescent, Wavecrest, on November 12.

Lunga Welkom, 28, and Masixole Mbeki, 33, appeared in the Humansdorp Magistrate’s Court on Monday and Tuesday after their arrest last week.

Marx’s body was discovered after out-of-town relatives failed to get hold of him on the phone.

They contacted a security company to inspect the house, which led  to the discovery.

Investigators said a preliminary investigation showed no signs of forced entry.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Anelisa Ngcakani said the arrests were made after a two-day investigation.

“They were arrested by the serious organised crime unit of the Hawks on Thursday in a township in Port Elizabeth,” she said.

Ngcakani said the investigation was ongoing but that the two had been charged with murder, robbery and fraud.

The fraud charge stems from the men allegedly using Marx’s credit card to buy items, which were also recovered.

“The total cost of stolen items recovered, and some allegedly purchased with the card, amounts to about R70,000,” Ngcakani said.

Marx’s daughter is specialist state prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel, 45, who works in the Port Elizabeth director of public prosecutions’ office.

Swanepoel deals mainly with cases relating to sexual offences and human trafficking and, due to the nature of her occupation, works closely with the Hawks.

According to insiders, the Hawks were on the scene to oversee the case and ascertain if the murder was possibly linked to any cases Swanepoel was working on.

Detectives later confirmed there was no known link to pending cases.

The men are due to reappear in court  on November 26.