Another arrest in retirement centre double murder

Another man has been arrested for the double murder at the St John Stella Londt Retirement Centre in Port Elizabeth two months ago.

This brings the total number of arrests since the murder to six.

The other five, a woman and four men, have already been charged with the murder of Agnes Burns, 91, and Rosemary Langton, 87, who were found bound and gagged in their rooms at the Sunridge Park centre on the morning of September 10.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said detectives had arrested a 31-year-old man near the Walmer police station at about 5pm on Tuesday.

“We have been looking for him for some time,” she said.

According to insiders, the man is out on parole.

He was released from prison in May after serving nine years of a 15-year sentence for house robbery.

Details of the case for which he is on parole are unclear but police confirmed it was a robbery that occurred in 2010 in Walmer.

Caregiver Nomgebisi Slangveld, 34, who was on duty on the night of the botched robbery, as well as Mkhuseli Damenti, 30, Nyasha Manyange, 33, Panganai Mabwe, 27, and Craig Madiro, 20, were all arrested after the murder.

On Monday, Damaneti  and  Manyange abandoned their bail applications and bail was denied for Slangveld.

Their next court appearance is on January 20.

The latest arrested man is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.