Murder suspect on rape rap

A relative and person of interest in the double murder of Jesse Hess, 19, and her grandfather Chris Lategan, 85, made an appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town yesterday for the alleged rape of a Hanover Park teenager.

The court heard the man had been out on parole since December last year, according to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The 31-year-old accused appeared on charges of rape, attempted murder and aggravated robbery.

Magistrate Goolam Bawa was informed he would not be applying for bail.

He was arrested in Struisbaai on Wednesday after charges were laid against him in the rape case on Monday. The accused is known to the Hanover Park victim, who is 16 years old.

The accused covered his head with a hoodie as he entered the dock. When he left, people in the gallery shouted at him to remove it, calling him a “gemors”, warning they would “wait for him”.

The man has been connected to the murders of Hess, a first-year theology student at the University of the Western Cape, and her grandfather via circumstantial evidence, police confirmed this week.

As of yesterday, he was still only a person of interest in the murder case.

Hess and Lategan were found dead in the family’s Parow flat on August 30 after reportedly being strangled.

A TV set, two cellphones and a backpack were stolen from the house.

There was no sign of forced entry, leading the Hess family to believe Jesse and Lategan might have known their assailant.

Her aunt, Sandy Hess, who was devastated after it was established her relative was allegedly linked to the murders, said their families had had a good relationship.

Their household had visited the relative’s home often as the suspect’s mother had been ill.

His mother months ago.

The case was postponed to February 14.

– News24 Wire died six

The Hess family believe Jesse Hess and Chris Lategan might have known their assailant.