Three held for Jeffreys Bay man’s murder

POLICE arrested three suspects within hours of the murder of a Jeffreys Bay family man inside his home at the weekend.

Johan Marais, 62, was shot dead after three men, aged between 20 and 25, entered his Silver Tree Road home in the early hours of Saturday.

Marais had gone downstairs to investigate a noise.

His daughter, Michelle den Hoed, 39, said the family was still traumatised by the ordeal.

Den Hoed said her mother, grandmother and two nieces, who had spent the night at the Marais home, were lucky to be alive.

“He [Marais] did everything in his power to ensure they [the intruders] did not go upstairs,” she said.

“Our family are still very traumatised by this whole incident.

“He was such a nice person, who loved his family and gardening – he had a little nursery at home.

“He was also chairman of the Jeffreys Bay Classic Car Club. He loved rare cars.”

She said a neighbour, who had heard gunshots going off inside the house, activated their panic button, which resulted in members of Smhart Security rushing to the home.

She said the family were only alerted to the tragedy after her mother managed to call another family member shortly after the shooting.

She said by the time other members arrived at the home, both police and members of Smhart Security were on the scene.

Den Hoed said Marais had kept a weapon at home for safety but had not taken it downstairs with him as he thought the noise he had heard could have been a photo frame falling from the wall, which had happened before.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters and seven grandchildren.

Police spokeswoman Captain Gerda Swart said Marais had gone to investigate a noise downstairs before he “was approached by one of the suspects and a scuffle ensued”.

Swart said several shots were fired and Marais was fatally wounded.

She said Jeffreys Bay police were notified shortly after the suspects were believed to have fled the scene.

“Alert community members reported suspicious persons in their yards. This was immediately followed up by police and resulted in the first suspect being arrested.”

Further information led police to the homes of two more suspects in the suburb of Oceanview in Jeffreys Bay.

Humansdorp cluster commander Brigadier John Lebok expressed condolences to the family and thanked the community for working with police to bring the alleged perpetrators to book.

Swart said the men were being held on charges ranging from murder to housebreaking and theft. They will appear in the Humansdorp Magistrate’s Court today.