Panayiotou: Was it a hit?
The murder of Uitenhage businessman Costa Panayiotou, who was gunned down outside his shop in the early hours of Monday, will be investigated by the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit, which specialises in hit murders.
Police believe the murder of Panayiotou, 69, was either a targeted killing or a botched hijacking.
An employee of Panayiotou’s Bambi Snack Bar endured a terrifying ordeal in the hours after the murder.
Panayiotou was gunned down outside the shop in Market Street, Uitenhage, shortly before 1am, with officials saying he was shot at point-blank range in the chest before he died in the car park across the road.
Though Panayiotou’s cellphone, keys to his house and shop and car were stolen, police confirmed that his necklace and other valuables he had on him were not taken.
At about 10am on Monday, several friends had gathered at the Panayiotou’s Winterhoek Drive home in Uitenhage, .
The Panayiotou family faced a number of years in the media glare after their son Christopher orchestrated the 2015 murder of his schoolteacher wife Jayde. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in 2017.
An official said Panayiotou had locked up his shop and was walking to his blue VW Polo in the car park across the road with his employee who he was due to drop at home when two suspects attacked, shooting Panayiotou and abducting the 46-year-old employee.
The official, who cannot be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said: “They did not say anything, just approached him and shot him before grabbing a few things and the keys.
“The men then forced the woman into the car and drove off with her.”
Police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said the employee, who cannot be identified, was allegedly abducted and raped by the two suspects.
Officials said the men then let the woman go in Salamntu Street, Kwazakhele, before they sped off in Panayiotou’s stolen Polo.
By 7am on Monday, Panayiotou’s Polo was found abandoned in Ngwenkala Street, Motherwell, in front of a backyard mechanic’s workshop.
Both the front and rear licence plates had been removed from the car and there was blood on the car seats.
Officials confirmed that as police approached the car, a remote was used to lock it and four men drove off in another car also without number plates.