Two in court for gem heist murder
not with the men”.
The case was postponed to April 14, and Swarts and Masilo will stay in custody until then when their formal bail applications are expected to be heard.
Labuschagne was found dead after being shot at DMS, a diamond sorting facility in Windsorton. He was on duty when he was killed around 4am on February 27.
He had apparently been shot after an alleged attempted robbery of rough diamonds that are normally kept in vaults on the site.
It is suspected that Labuschagne was shot at close range (with gunpowder residue present on his clothes) after he did not produce the keys to the vaults. The keys were apparently later found in his vehicle parked on the site.
After hearing two gunshots, one eyewitness, a worker at the facility, saw three men fleeing the scene.
It was initially suspected that one of the two security guards at the facility drugged the other, causing him to fall sleep while the incident occurred. His blood was reportedly tested for traces of such a substance. The outcome of these tests are expected to be revealed during the trial.
A reward of R100 000 was offered to anyone with information regarding the incident, but it is still unclear if the reward had been claimed.
On Friday the Hawks arrested three suspects in Windsorton and one in Christiana. They are aged between 24 and 43 years.