Slaying suspect denied bail

ROMEO Schiefer will spend his fourth night in Police custody tonight, after making his first court appearance yesterday on charges of murdering both his parents over the weekend.

In front of a packed courtroom in Katutura, 18-year-old Schiefer was denied bail when he appeared before Magistrate Desmond Beukes. He is now set to undergo psychiatric evaluation while the Police continue to investigate the charges against him.Schiefer’s lawyer, Edwin Coetzee from the legal firm Tjitemisa & Associates, indicated that they intended to make a formal bail application.Prosecutor Roxzaan Witbooi appeared for the State.The young man was arrested on Saturday afternoon, after Police had spent the day questioning him and his two older brothers over the death of their parents the night before.Their parents, Frans and Fransina Schiefer (both aged 50) were found dead in their home at around 23h20 on Friday.The man had been shot in the head while he was asleep, Police said, while his wife’s body was found in the kitchen.She had been shot three times in her legs and had a knife stuck in her throat.A number of empty shell casings were also found on the scene.By yesterday, the Police were still tight-lipped about the evidence with which they are linking the youngest Schiefer son to the crime, saying only that the matter was sensitive.The CZ pistol found on the scene had belonged to the deceased, Frans Schiefer, Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Kauna Shikwambi said yesterday.She was not able to confirm whether fingerprints on the gun or the knife had been matched to anyone yet.She was also unable to confirm whether the knife had belonged to the family, or whether it had been brought in from outside.Neighbours who reportedly informed the Police about a commotion at the house reported that they had heard Mrs Schiefer scream out her youngest son’s name during her final moments.Community members yesterday speculated that a pair of bloodstained shorts found on the scene could have something to do with Romeo Schiefer’s arrest.”But he’d been cutting meat with his mother that afternoon,” a friend, who asked not to be named, said yesterday.The suspect was the last known person to have seen his parents alive, having apparently left the house just minutes before the murders.The Schiefers’ middle child, who also lived with his parents, apparently left the house earlier in the day and was reportedly at a friend’s house at the time of the murders.Romeo Schiefer’s siblings and other relatives were among the many people the court proceedings in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday.He is now set to undergo psychiatric evaluation while the Police continue to investigate the charges against him.Schiefer’s lawyer, Edwin Coetzee from the legal firm Tjitemisa & Associates, indicated that they intended to make a formal bail application.Prosecutor Roxzaan Witbooi appeared for the State.The young man was arrested on Saturday afternoon, after Police had spent the day questioning him and his two older brothers over the death of their parents the night before. Their parents, Frans and Fransina Schiefer (both aged 50) were found dead in their home at around 23h20 on Friday.The man had been shot in the head while he was asleep, Police said, while his wife’s body was found in the kitchen.She had been shot three times in her legs and had a knife stuck in her throat.A number of empty shell casings were also found on the scene.By yesterday, the Police were still tight-lipped about the evidence with which they are linking the youngest Schiefer son to the crime, saying only that the matter was sensitive.The CZ pistol found on the scene had belonged to the deceased, Frans Schiefer, Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Kauna Shikwambi said yesterday.She was not able to confirm whether fingerprints on the gun or the knife had been matched to anyone yet.She was also unable to confirm whether the knife had belonged to the family, or whether it had been brought in from outside.Neighbours who reportedly informed the Police about a commotion at the house reported that they had heard Mrs Schiefer scream out her youngest son’s name during her final moments.Community members yesterday speculated that a pair of bloodstained shorts found on the scene could have something to do with Romeo Schiefer’s arrest.”But he’d been cutting meat with his mother that afternoon,” a friend, who asked not to be named, said yesterday.The suspect was the last known person to have seen his parents alive, having apparently left the house just minutes before the murders.The Schiefers’ middle child, who also lived with his parents, apparently left the house earlier in the day and was reportedly at a friend’s house at the time of the murders.Romeo Schiefer’s siblings and other relatives were among the many people the court proceedings in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday.

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