Arrest made in Sun City murder
2010-02-27 13:01
Johannesburg - Police arrested a man for the murder of a Sun City employee after
positive fingerprint matches, Northwest police said on Saturday.
"The suspect's fingerprints match those found on the crime scene," said Superintendent Lesego Metsi.
The
28-year-old was arrested in Bothaville in the Free State on Friday
night. He was employed by a gardening services company which worked for
Sun City.
He is positively linked with the murder of Sun City
employee Colleen van Eck, age 59, last Sunday. She was beaten,
strangled and apparently thrown against the wall in her flat in the
Northwest resort's employee compound.
It is unclear how he gained access to Van Eck's flat, Metsie said.
Four people were arrested in possession of Van Eck's cellphone in Ledig, a town near Sun City.
They
appeared briefly in court and were released on a warning to appear in
court later. No evidence was found linking them directly to the murder.
Their arrest however lead directly to the arrest of the man in Bothaville, Metsi said.
He also had a stolen cellphone which was not connected to the murder.
It is uncertain if anything other than Van Eck's cellphone was stolen because she lived alone, Metsi said.
Northwest public safety MEC Howard Yawa commended the police "for a breakthrough in the investigation."
The man will appear in the Mogwase Magistrate's Court on Monday on a charge of murder.
- SAPA