Suspect in Schoenies murders arrested

A SUSPECT in the brutal hammer murders of an elderly Schoenmakerskop couple, as well as a Forest Hill man, has been arrested.

The 21-year-old Walmer township man, who is believed to belong to the gang allegedly involved in both attacks in Port Elizabeth, was detained yesterday afternoon. The others are still on the run. According to police sources, the man has indicated that he wants to make a confession.

Since the savage attack on Ken Alexander, 76, and Elaine Allwright, 78, last month, detectives have been working around the clock on the investigation.

They suspected the killers could also be responsible for the murder of Tyrone Plaatjies, 49, in his caravan home at the Forest Hill cemetery three days earlier. A hammer was used in both attacks. The suspect was arrested after police tracked him down to Paterson, where he was due to appear in court on an unrelated charge on Wednesday – a burglary committed on October 4, only days after the Schoenmakerskop murders.

Alexander was bludgeoned to death on September 26 and Allwright – who managed to escape through a window despite severe head injuries – died in hospital nine days later.

Plaatjies was beaten to death after two men forced their way into his caravan on the night of September 23.

The suspects, one armed with a hammer, attacked Plaatjies and also badly injured another man, who was admitted to an intensive care unit.

The suspects made off with R50, a cellphone and Plaatjies’ car.

The police top brass have hailed top-notch work by detectives in following up leads that came from tip-offs after a R50 000 reward was offered in the Schoenmakerskop case.

This led to detectives raiding several homes in Walmer township last week, and finding bloodied clothes and a television – possibly belonging to Alexander and Allwright.

Mount Road Cluster deputy commander Brigadier Keith Meyer – who assisted with the investigation – said a hunt had been launched for the culprits after the discovery of the items. “At the time,

we suspected the caravan murder and that of the Schoenmakerskop couple could be linked.

“Evidence gathered at the caravan as well as the [Schoenmakerskop] house assisted with identifying suspects and linking them,” he said.

Meyer said it was believed the suspects had fled from the city shortly after the Schoenmakerskop murders.

A task team led by Walmer police station detective commander Captain Elroy Lindoor had been working tirelessly on the cases.

“It is always very challenging to crack a case where there were no witnesses,” he said.

“Without a doubt, this breakthrough comes as a result of the relentless effort from the team of detectives from Walmer and Humewood.”

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said: “Walmer and Humewood police detectives have been jointly working on the cases as they cross into both policing precincts.”

Cluster head Major-General Funeka Siganga said the spike in attacks at the Forest Hill cemetery over a period of months had led to police camping out in the bushes.

Since February, mourners have been warned to be cautious when visiting the cemetery following a series of robberies.

“Several efforts were made to catch these culprits during their crime spree,” Siganga said. “In addition to these attacks, several other robberies were reported – mainly of students and student communes – in the Summerstrand area.

“Efforts are being made to first locate the other suspects.

“After the entire gang is in custody, detectives will work on linking them to other attacks.”

The suspect is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday.