Artist's assistant arrested for murder

2011-03-14 08:24

Hilda Fourie, Beeld

Pretoria - The personal assistant of murdered artist Cornelius Bosch was arrested on Sunday afternoon after four other men arrested for the murder linked him to the crime.

Christo Potgieter, 26, will appear along with the four men in the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court on Tuesday in connection with Bosch's murder.

Potgieter reported Bosch, 55, missing to the police five days after he had disappeared without a trace on March 1.

The only possessions that were missing were Bosch's GWM bakkie and cellphone.

Burnt body

The same day, a burnt body with a gunshot wound to the head was found in a veld in Derdepoort, northeast of Pretoria.

This is several kilometres away from Bosch's house in Buffelsdrift.

The body was identified as Bosch's a week later with the help of dental records.

The motive for the murder is still unclear but it is believed to relate to an argument about money.

Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Katlego Mogale said on Sunday that the police investigation had led them to Eersterust in eastern Pretoria.

Four men were arrested there on Friday after vehicle parts that were believed to belong to Bosch's bakkie were found in their possession.

Bakkie parts

Police suspected that parts of the GWM bakkie were removed after he was shot in the head and his body was set alight.

Police confiscated a vehicle that was apparently built from the parts belonging to Bosch's bakkie.

The men allegedly linked Potgieter to the murder.

Potgieter was arrested on Sunday afternoon at his home in Montana in northern Pretoria.

All of the five men will remain in custody until they appear in court, said Mogale.

Bosch was best known for his expressionist paintings of flowers and dramatic and classical landscapes.
 

- Beeld