A MAN who is suspected of the axe murder of Gerda van Heerden in Walvis Bay last week was arrested on Thursday.
The suspect, a 28-year-old man, was tracked down to a house in Kuisebmond where a cellphone and .38 Special revolver, among the items that were reported missing from the Van Heerdens’ house after the crime, were found. According to Chief Inspector Hannes Hamman in Walvis Bay, the stolen cellphone played an important role in tracking down the man.The suspect appeared in court on Friday where he was formally charged with murder.Chief Inspector Hamman said an autopsy has been done and although the autopsy report is still to be finalised, it seems that the axe found on the crime scene was indeed the murder weapon.The 44-year-old Gerda van Heerden was killed in broad daylight, in her own home on Tuesday morning.Her 12-year-old daughter, Amoret, discovered her mother’s body in a pool of blood on the dining-room floor when she returned home after school.The girl’s brother, Rudolf, returned from Sierra Leone on Tuesday, not knowing about the tragedy that awaited his family in Walvis Bay.Their brother Emil, currently a student in South Africa, and father, Rudolf senior, also working in Sierra Leone, were expected to arrive in Walvis Bay over the weekend.According to Chief Inspector Hannes Hamman in Walvis Bay, the stolen cellphone played an important role in tracking down the man.The suspect appeared in court on Friday where he was formally charged with murder.Chief Inspector Hamman said an autopsy has been done and although the autopsy report is still to be finalised, it seems that the axe found on the crime scene was indeed the murder weapon.The 44-year-old Gerda van Heerden was killed in broad daylight, in her own home on Tuesday morning.Her 12-year-old daughter, Amoret, discovered her mother’s body in a pool of blood on the dining-room floor when she returned home after school.The girl’s brother, Rudolf, returned from Sierra Leone on Tuesday, not knowing about the tragedy that awaited his family in Walvis Bay.Their brother Emil, currently a student in South Africa, and father, Rudolf senior, also working in Sierra Leone, were expected to arrive in Walvis Bay over the weekend.
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