Mystery over body in BMW's boot

2007-08-06 22:50

Hilda Fourie

Pretoria - Mystery surrounds the discovery of the body of a 42-year-old broker who was found wrapped in a duvet in the boot of his own car at a car park in Faerie Glen, east of Pretoria.

Police spokesperson Lucas Sithole says the body has been identified as that of Ian de Wit.

Sithole said the silver BMW 3-series vehicle owned by De Wit, who lived in Willow Acres east of Pretoria, had been standing in the car park of the Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket in Atterbury Road for some time.

Pick n Pay's security staff, who had become suspicious, contacted the police on Monday morning.

The police found the car's keys in the ignition and opened the boot where they found his body.

"The man was wrapped in a cream-coloured duvet. Neither his hands nor feet were bound. He also didn't have any physical injuries," Sithole said.

Hand wrapped in plastic

Beeld heard that there was a bit of blood around the nose, but the body didn't show any obvious signs of cause of death.

When police lifted the body (which was already starting to decompose) out of the car's boot, all that bystanders could see was a hand wrapped in plastic, hanging down the side of the stretcher.

The body was put into the mortuary van at about 11:00.

Sithole said at no time had De Wit been reported as missing.

De Wit's mother, Stinie de Wit, who lives in Frankfort in the Free State, said they still did not know anything about his death.

She explained tearfully that she and her husband Chris had only heard of their son's death on Monday afternoon.

"Under the circumstances it's going well. We still have to get to grips with the news.

"I spoke to my daughter-in-law for about 10 minutes, but she's still too shocked to speak coherently."

De Wit leaves his wife Saskia and three sons, two of whom are still at school.

A case of murder is being investigated.

No-one has been arrested yet.

- Beeld