A man has been found murdered at his farm, a little over a month after the rape and murder of his partner.
|||Cape Town - In a crime described as “shocking, scary and cruel” by neighbours, a man has been found murdered at his farm in Philippi, a little over a month after the rape and murder of his partner at the same location.
Farmer Arnold Schultz, 68, was found dead by police at Die Erf farm, off Vanguard Drive, after worried family members had reported him missing on Saturday afternoon. Schultz’s partner, Hester Koch, 62, was murdered on the farm last month.
“[Schultz was found] in one of the sheds, with blood stains and covered with a towel. [He had been] stabbed with an unknown sharp object. Circumstances and suspects are unknown at this stage,” said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.
Neighbours and friends of Schultz described the latest murder as “shocking, scary and cruel”.
The two neighbours interviewed by the Cape Argus asked not to be named.
“He was an amputee, and disabled as such. He had no chance to defend himself,” said one of the men.
“After what happened to Hester I had warned him to keep the doors locked, I had asked him whether he didn’t want to move out or have someone live with him for a while. He kept saying that he was okay.”
At the time of Koch’s death it was alleged that the perpetrators were people who had been “saved” from a life on the street.
They had apparently been living on Die Erf with Schultz and Koch at the time of Koch’s murder.
Relations between the boarders and the couple apparently soured when Koch asked them to leave, about a week before the murder.
During the attack on Koch, Schultz was bound with his neck ties.
The attackers ransacked the house for about 45 minutes, before stealing Schultz’s bakkie.
Four men were arrested for the murder and have appeared in court.
“I spoke to Arnie on Thursday, he had spent the last two days in court,” another neighbour said.
Tensions between the four accused and Schultz had apparently been high last week.
After one of the suspects gave evidence, Schultz told his neighbour that he had tried to attack them with his crutch.
“The most sinister detail is that Arnold told me that one of the accused turned around, said something to a person in the gallery and then turned to Arnold.
“Arnold told me that the man smiled at him and blew him a kiss,” said the neighbour.
* Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
Cape Argus