GQEBERHA – Three suspects charged in connection with the brutal murder of businessman Danie de Jager made a brief appearance in the Gqeberha Magistrate’s Court today.
De Jager was murdered in his Newton Park home in Mangold Street on Thursday, 30 October.
Murder accused Anke Cilliers and Leeroy Scholtz – who were alleged tenants at the victim’s property – squeezed each other’s hands tightly whilst whispering in court, prompting the presiding magistrate to request distance between the two.
“I don’t know if something is being passed from one to another,” the magistrate noted.
The duo held on tightly before eventually letting go.
Meanwhile, their co-accused, Estelle Le Grange (57), a petite woman and the alleged life partner of de Jager, stood silently in the dock.
At the time of the murder, Le Grange who was living with de Jager, allegedly told police she was asleep when she heard a loud noise.
“In the passage, she was confronted by intruders who restrained her with cable ties, covered her head with a pillowcase, and gagged her before ransacking the house and fleeing with a laptop and her partner’s vehicle, a Nissan Juke,” police said in a statement.
Le Grange was arrested along with her co-accused hours later.
The suspects stand accused of robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The case was postponed to Thursday, 13 November for a bail application.
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