PE killings: Felix’s sister’s sad plea
TWENTY years after the double execution of long-time friends Scott Ayton and Felix Coetzee rocked the Eastern Cape, prominent state advocate Hannelie Bakker confirmed this week that the investigation was still on the police agenda.
This comes after a poignant, hand-written letter was received by the media from Felix’s Cape Town-based sister Judy Tunbridge, appealing for publicity that would remind the public about this double murder that remains a mystery amid grumbles of a cover-up.
“Please can this cold case be re-ignited? I would like to challenge the necessary police department to keep my family and all those who still miss and love Scott and Felix [informed]. Somebody knows something,” Tunbridge said.
Deputy director of public prosecutions in Port Elizabeth Advocate Hannelie Bakker confirmed that she had met with the case’s investigating officer and that the authorities were exploring an aspect of the case. She said a progress meeting would be held next month and noted that the case was a complex matter.
However, Coetzee’s family is disgruntled that, after all this time, no breakthroughs have been forthcoming.
“There were lots of promises from the police that they had suspects and [there was] talk of imminent arrests . . . Surely . . . after 20 years, the police should be able to reveal their findings. As a family we think there is a link to a ship – the Arktis Pioneer, which had a secret Armscor shipment of weapons being sent to Yemen – that left the Port Elizabeth Harbour.”
The ship was forced to turn back after an international outcry, Tunbridge said. But she did not elaborate how she believed the ship was linked to the double murder.
Tunbridge went on to say the family felt the case had been set aside in the hope that it would be forgotten.
“But to our dying day we will never forget, or forgive, those who killed these boys and robbed them of fruitful lives.
“We will also never let it be forgotten,” Tunbridge vowed.
Coetzee, 26, and Ayton, 25, were murdered execution style in the Aytons’ Alcock Road home in Walmer. Their bodies were found on May 23 1994, gagged, bound, blindfolded and shot in the head. There was no sign of forced entry and nothing was stolen. Coetzee had been house-sitting for the Aytons while his friend had been home for a weekend visit.
THE killings of Felix Coetzee and Scott Ayton have stumped leading investigative journalists and spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories.
However, the truth remains elusive as to what happened on the night of May 22 1994 and who was involved.
The biggest question for the families still is: “Why?”
Both young men were on the road to career success. Coetzee was a mechanical engineering student training at Algorax and Ayton an electrical engineering graduate working for Decca in Addo.
“Many journalists have tried to crack this case, with some being stopped in their tracks while others simply lost steam,” Coetzee’s brother, Hennie, says.
“I am not sure if the truth will ever come out in my time. Maybe 50 years from now, when no one has anything to lose, some brave person will look into this and uncover what really happened and why,” he said.
Since news broke of the tragedy, there have been no concrete, documented breakthroughs. Although conspiracy theories about dangerous liaisons and illicit activities abounded, nothing was proven, says Hennie.
In December 1994, a stone seat was erected in Baakens Valley in honour of both Scott Ayton and his father John.
In 2003, police offered a R300 000 reward to anyone who came forward with information that could lead to a breakthrough in the case. The amount remains the same, Coetzee’s sister, Yvonne Bruhwiler, said.
The Fat Tracks Mountain Bike Club started the Scott Ayton Memorial Fun Ride in honour of Ayton.