‘Naked maniac’ caught after gruesome murder

A 64-year-old woman, Theresia Tsuses, was raped and murdered near her home at the Otjimbingwe settlement in the Erongo Region on Tuesday afternoon – while the regional police chief, Commissioner Samuel //Hoëbeb, was paying the Police there an official visit.

A 34-year-old suspect was caught by the community and handed over to the Police. He will appear in the Karibib Magistrate’s Court on charges of rape and murder today.The shocking murder comes shortly on the heels of the small sleepy village celebrating the achievement of one of their students having been crowned the best Grade 12 performer in the country.The acting regional crime investigating coordinator, Inspector George Xoagub, said it appears that Tsuses was strangled to death with her own scarf.’All we can make out of the incident so far is that the suspect may have grabbed the victim by the scarf around her neck and then dragged her to the bush next to the Swakop River where he then proceeded to strangle and rape her before she died,’ said Xoagub.According to the victim’s sister-in-law, Gerlinde Tsuses, the suspect was behaving abnormally in the morning already.’He was going on like a maniac. He was going around threatening to stab people with a knife,’ she said. A woman threatened to call the Police if the man continued harassing her. By this time, the suspect had removed all his clothes. That’s when he went down to the river – which the victim and her five-year-old grandson were crossing at the time to get to their home on the other side.The suspect allegedly grabbed Tsuses from behind and stabbed her in the back before dragging her to a tree where he raped her.The little boy had in the meantime run away, screaming: ‘He killed my granny.’Another resident allegedly saw the suspect committing the crime and started screaming for help. The suspect fled, but it was too late for Granny Tsuses. Her dead body was lying under the tree, one of her legs bent at an unnatural angle.’The Police struggled to put her legs together when they took the body away. It was as if the one leg was broken outward,’ said Gerlinde Tsuses.The community searched for the suspect, and found him at a relative’s home where they bayed for his blood. He was apparently denying everything and even blaming other residents for supplying him with dagga.It was only the quick intervention of Karibib constituency councillor Usiël Xoagub and the Police that saved the suspect from the fury of the community.The late Theresia Tsuses was described as a quiet, helpful and always friendly person. She knew the suspect and sometimes invited him to eat with her family when he was going hungry, her sister-in-law said.Tsuseb’s husband is in shock.’He’s just quiet, and was just standing under the tree where his wife was raped and killed. This is obviously very hard for him,’ said Gerlinde Tsuseb.’This is indeed a very sad time for the community and for the country. It’s a very sad way for this woman to die,’ said councillor Xoagub.He said he was in the meeting with Commissioner //Hoëbeb when they were informed of the incident.He said drugs and alcohol could have played a big role in the suspect’s behaviour.’This was a peaceful member of the community who had a home to care for. The community and the Police must work together to find a way to eliminate drugs and alcohol abuse. We need to talk to the outlets and inform them of their responsibilities towards the community,’ he said.