2 plead guilty to murdering elderly woman

“I KILLED a woman,” a 21-year-old man accused of murdering an elderly woman on a farm in the Otavi district on Sunday confessed when he appeared in the Grootfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Jamen Gaoseb and a co-accused, Joahsel Gamaseb (20), both offered guilty pleas on a charge of murder when they made a first court appearance following their arrest on Sunday. The two are accused of murdering 81-year-old Ruth Will in her house on the farm Gaidaus, about 30 kilometres southeast of Otavi, on Sunday.According to Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi of the Police’s Public Relations and Liaison Division, Will’s body was discovered on Sunday.Her hands and feet had been tied and she had been gagged.It is suspected that she might have suffocated, he said.Nuuyi said a .22 calibre firearm and clothes had been stolen from Will’s house.These items were recovered when the two suspects, who had been employed by Will in the past, were arrested, he said.Public Prosecutor Frieda Matsi put a charge of murder to the two men when they appeared before Magistrate André le Roux yesterday.Both men told the court that they wanted to plead guilty, but after the Magistrate listened to their explanations of the events that took place at the farm, he entered pleas of not guilty on their behalf, according to a source at the court.When asked why he was pleading guilty, Gaoseb’s answer was: “I killed a woman.”He then told the Magistrate that he had tied up Will with a rope so he could steal money from her that she owed him.He had been employed by her, Gaoseb said.He said he and Gamaseb had tied Will’s hands together and gagged her with her nightdress.He never thought she would die, Gaoseb added.Gamaseb told the court that they had broken a window to gain entry to Will’s house.He said they tied her legs and arms and also tied something over her mouth so that they could take money from her.After they found money in a wardrobe, they left for Otavi, he related.Gamaseb told the court that Will had died in their presence.”We left her there,” he said.He, too, told the Magistrate that he did not foresee that the tying up could cause Will’s death.However, he knew that their actions at Will’s house were unlawful, Gamaseb also told the court.The two men’s case was postponed to February 7 for further investigation.Both remain in Police custody.The two are accused of murdering 81-year-old Ruth Will in her house on the farm Gaidaus, about 30 kilometres southeast of Otavi, on Sunday.According to Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi of the Police’s Public Relations and Liaison Division, Will’s body was discovered on Sunday.Her hands and feet had been tied and she had been gagged.It is suspected that she might have suffocated, he said.Nuuyi said a .22 calibre firearm and clothes had been stolen from Will’s house.These items were recovered when the two suspects, who had been employed by Will in the past, were arrested, he said.Public Prosecutor Frieda Matsi put a charge of murder to the two men when they appeared before Magistrate André le Roux yesterday.Both men told the court that they wanted to plead guilty, but after the Magistrate listened to their explanations of the events that took place at the farm, he entered pleas of not guilty on their behalf, according to a source at the court.When asked why he was pleading guilty, Gaoseb’s answer was: “I killed a woman.”He then told the Magistrate that he had tied up Will with a rope so he could steal money from her that she owed him.He had been employed by her, Gaoseb said.He said he and Gamaseb had tied Will’s hands together and gagged her with her nightdress.He never thought she would die, Gaoseb added.Gamaseb told the court that they had broken a window to gain entry to Will’s house.He said they tied her legs and arms and also tied something over her mouth so that they could take money from her.After they found money in a wardrobe, they left for Otavi, he related.Gamaseb told the court that Will had died in their presence.”We left her there,” he said.He, too, told the Magistrate that he did not foresee that the tying up could cause Will’s death.However, he knew that their actions at Will’s house were unlawful, Gamaseb also told the court.The two men’s case was postponed to February 7 for further investigation.Both remain in Police custody.