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Wife arrested for murder
21/07/2008 07:30 - (SA)
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| The badly decomposed body of Polokwane businessman Wayne Bruton, 29, is removed from a shallow grave in Seshego. (Doug Lee, Rapport) |
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Marietie Louw-Carstens, Beeld
Polokwane - Police have arrested the wife and father-in-law of a local businessman who has been missing for almost a month. His decomposed body was found in a shallow grave this weekend.
Sanet Bruton, 30, and her father, Phillipus de Bruin, were arrested on Saturday.
The arrests were made shortly after the body of Wayne Bruton, 29, was found in Seshego, outside Polokwane.
Superintendent Ronel Otto said on Sunday that Sanet and Phillipus were being questioned in connection with the murder, but they had not been charged yet with any crime.
Sanet said to Beeld last week:"I don't know whether I should still hope or not. It's terrible. I'm living at God's mercy."
She also said previously that her knees were worn from all the praying she had done to ask that her husband be returned safely. Things got so bad that she had to receive medical treatment in the last month.
Wayne's brother, Jo Bruton, did not want to confirm or deny on Sunday that his sister-in-law had been arrested.
The arrests came after one of Wayne's employees, Solomon Shadung, 27, was arrested about two weeks ago on charges of kidnapping.
He is in police custody and must appear in Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
On Saturday, police arrested an estate agent from Seshego, at whose house the police found Wayne's body in shallow grave.
Possible motives
The man was pouring a cement slab over the shallow grave, apparently to build a stoep when the police caught him and arrested him in connection with the murder.
Possible motives for the murder were a property deal that went wrong and Wayne's life insurance that allegedly would have paid out.
Wayne, a property developer, was last seen alive on June 24 when he visited a building site in Seshego.
Sanet identified Wayne's body.
Although the exact time and cause of his death have not yet been determined, it is possible he was murdered shortly after he disappeared.
Sanet said to Beeld last week that the last time she had spoken to her husband on his cellphone was at 10:08 on June 24.
She said at 12:53 that day R1 900 was withdrawn from her husband's savings account. That was all the money that had been left in the account.
Found SMSs strange
She had received several SMSs from her husband that said he had gone to Lebowakgomo for a meeting.
Later that day, she received an SMS from his cellphone saying he was having problems with his new Kia bakkie and that we was going to sleep over in Lebowakgomo.
Sanet said she found the SMSs strange because her husband did not usually send them.
Lebowakgomo police found Wayne's abandoned bakkie in some bushes in the Cheunespoort area, about 30km from the town. A fire had been started in the bakkie's cabin.
Wayne's shoes and some blood were found in the bakkie. His cellphone was also in the bakkie, but his house keys were missing.
The bakkie's number plate had been removed.
Fears for children's safety
Sanet said to Beeld last week that she feared for her and her children's safety.
"It's now not just about my husband's disappearance, but about my children's safety."
The couple were married for 11 years and have a three-month-old baby and two other children.
A post-mortem will be done on Wayne this week.
- Beeld
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