Man charged with murder of ex-pats in SouthAfrica
A 43-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with murder, kidnapping and house robbery after a Welsh couple were found dead in a river in South Africa.
Grandparents Roger and Christine Solik, who moved from Abercynon, near Aberdare, to South Africa in 1981, were killed after an alleged robbery at their farmland estate.
Mrs Solik, 57, was found dead in a river 35 miles from her home on February 17 and the body of Parkinson’s sufferer Roger, 66, was recovered three days later.
Police received a report of a couple missing from one of the estates in the area on February 17.
A concerned neighbour went to investigate and saw that the house was in what police described as a “state of disarray”.
When police arrived on the scene, they discovered bloodstains in the house and began investigating a case of kidnapping and robbery.
The body of Mrs Solik was discovered later that day by a passer-by in a river at Nzinga, Impendle – which is nearly 30 miles away from the town of Nottingham Road where the couple lived.
Their vehicle, a Hyundai IX 35, was found abandoned. Three days later on February 20, the body of Mr Solik was recovered around 3km downstream in the middle of the river.
Police have been working around the clock and now say they are close to arresting another suspect after a man was charged with murder, kidnapping and house robbery last week.
The South African Police Service said the 43-year-old man appeared at Howick Magistrates’ Court last Friday and has been remanded in custody until March 13.
A police statement said: “He cannot be named at this stage as the investigation is continuing. The arrest of another suspect is imminent.”
Touching tributes have been paid to the couple from their children and friends.
Twins Alexander and Gregory, 32, Jessica, 30, and Brendon, 29, said their parents were devoted to each other.
It is believed Mrs Solik had returned to Wales earlier this year for the funeral of her father Glyn.