Hit on engineer ‘like something out of Hollywood’

A MURDERED chemical engineer’s diaries, a suspicious phone call, questionable substances linked to a nuclear bomb and whispers about Israeli spies possibly being involved in the killing.

These are some of the elements surrounding the death of Wynand van Wyk, 44, a chemical engineer from Durbanville, who was bludgeoned to death on the 18th floor of a Sea Point hotel on April 23 in 1993.

No arrests have been made for the hit, which has been steeped in rumours.

And those close to the probe are giving scant details or refuse to talk about it.

Even now, Sheila-Ann de Beer, 59, who was married to Van Wyk at the time, speaks hesitantly.

Criminals repeatedly targeted her home after his murder, and because of this, De Beer has been careful what she says.

She described what happened to Van Wyk as “something out of a Hollywood story”.

“There were a lot of suspicious things that happened before (his killing),” De Beer said.

“I spoke to (someone) I presume was the murderer… He phoned originally to set up an appointment (with Van Wyk).”

This appointment led Van Wyk to the hotel room in Sea Point, where he was murdered.

At the time it was reported that a man of Portuguese descent was a suspect. But De Beer believed others were present. She doesn’t know why Van Wyk was killed.

Over the years, publications wrote about apparent links between the murder of Van Wyk and that of Alan Kidger, sales manager for Thor Chemicals, who had been found bludgeoned to death about two years earlier, in November 1991.

Kidger’s body was found covered in red mercury and