An 83-year-old woman died instantly after she was tied up with a pantyhose, tape and pieces of cloth at her house by four criminals on Friday. 

The incident occurred between Friday, 27 May around 22h00 and Saturday, 28 May 2022 around 07h00 in Aub Street, Mariental.

According to chief inspector Elifas  Kuwinga, the police in Mariental are investigating a case of housebreaking with the intent to commit robbery and murder after four suspects allegedly forced open the back door with a crowbar to gain entrance and tied two female victims, an elderly woman and her housekeeper, with panty- hose, tape and pieces of clothing. 

“They then searched through the house, and after they left, the housekeeper managed to loosen herself and went to the elderly victim to rescue her, but found her already dead. It’s unknown at this stage what the cause of death is, but there’s a possibility that she might have been suffocated,” he explained.

Kuwinga said it’s further unknown what items are missing, but what could be detected at this stage is that two cellphones and two wedding rings with unknown value are gone.

The police said the deceased has been identified as Johanna Hendrihetta Simon (83), and her next of kin were informed. The housekeeper is Annetha Rooi, age unknown. The suspects are unknown, and no arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, warrant officer Silas Shipandeni said a 28-year-old Namibian woman died after being strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend in Katutura on Thursday.

It is alleged that the suspect found her with her current boyfriend, drinking at home. The suspect then asked the deceased to choose who should sleep over between the two men, upon which the current boyfriend went, leaving the suspect and the deceased. 

“A witness, who is a cousin of the deceased, heard a sound from the deceased’s room of someone being strangled. She then started texting people in the main house to wake up, and when they went to check in the deceased’s room, they found her laying dead on the bed. The suspect was nowhere to be found,” Shipandeni said.

The warrant officer indicated that the 18-year-old suspect, who is well-known as a violent person, was later arrested in central Katutura, and is expected to appear in court today.

In another murder,  the body of a man was found in a room with both arms tied with wire behind his back. His legs were also tied with a T-shirt, and his mouth covered with a cloth. It is suspected that the deceased was strangled to death, with no open wound on the body.

Shipandeni said the body was discovered by Timothy Silombela, who went to the house after he tried to call his brother (deceased) on his cellphone several times, but the number was unreachable.

Timothy notified the police, and the deceased was identified as Benjamin Silombela (41). The incident occurred at Eros, and a suspect was arrested over the weekend. He is also expected to appear in court today.