A 43-year-old foreign national has been arrested in connection with the murder of an 86-year-old Camps Bay resident who was found dead in his home in Francolin Street in December last year. A second suspect remains at large.
According to Camps Bay police, officers followed up on an anonymous tip-off and arrested the suspect on Tuesday 3 March.
Gerhard Ernst Kopatz was found by his daughter with his hands and feet tied in a separate apartment at his house at about 12:50 on Wednesday 30 December.
Surveillance footage from the street captured two men leaving the deceased’s house on Sunday 28 December.
According to police reports the preliminary cause of death is strangulation. Two cell phones, a laptop and bank cards were stolen from the house.
Camps Bay Police Station commander, Capt Liaan Janse van Rensburg says the suspect face a charge of murder and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Friday 6 March.
He said the suspect will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Wednesday 24 June.
Janse van Rensburg expressed his gratitude to the Camps Bay City Improvement District, noting that they played a key role in assisting police with reviewing hours of CCTV footage to identify the suspects.
Anyone with any information regarding the case is requested to contact in investigating officer Lt Col Adrian Pretorius on 082 777 8499.
