Cops quiz relatives over killings
2008-07-22 08:29
Durban - Arrests in connection with the murder of a German couple who were stabbed and strangled in their Westville home are expected on Tuesday.
Businessman Johan Lotter and his wife, Magdalena, who is also known as Riekie, were found by their daughter at their Thames Place home on Saturday night.
Lotter was the head of the Bayer/Lanxess chemical plant in Merebank's Tomango Road. The couple had been living in South Africa for the past 18 years and had three children.
Police took in three relatives for questioning and are expected to make arrests in connection with the brutal murders on Tuesday.
Superintendent Jay Naicker said that Johan was asleep when he was attacked while his wife was stabbed in the kitchen. A large knife was found.
There were no signs of a struggle or a forced entry and police believe that the attackers were known to the couple.
Son locked in bedroom
Naicker said it appeared Magdalena had tried to defend herself while being attacked as she had several stab wounds.
He said the couple's 20-year-old son told police that two men in balaclavas confronted him, took his cellphone and then locked him in his bedroom.
"The bodies were found by Lotter's 26-year-old daughter," he said. It is believed the daughter had also freed her brother from his bedroom.
Members of the organised crime unit took fingerprints and searched the property on Monday.
At a sensitive stage
"Police combed the area for vital clues which could solve the murders," he said.
Naicker confirmed that the three suspects were relatives of the dead couple, but would not divulge further details. He said that the case was at a sensitive stage.
"Police are still questioning the suspects who have indicated that they want to make confessions. We are also consulting with the Director of Public Prosecutions" he said.