Eveline de Klerk
Swakopmund
One of the two suspects arrested over the weekend for the brutal murder of a 78-year-old Swakopmund resident was hospitalised, while the second suspect was released due to a lack of evidence.
The hospitalised suspect was scheduled to appear today in the Outjo Magistrate court.
According to chief inspector Erastus Iikuyu of the Namibian Police Force, 26-year-old Jackson Vikuria was released as he could not be linked to the murder of Manfred Karl Hartman, who was found dead at his house on Friday morning in Swakopmund.
The main suspect sustained injuries during his arrest and was transferred to Windhoek for treatment. His condition is stable and he is under police guard, Iikuyu said.
The main suspect was employed by Hartman as a gardener and was employed for about two months before his employer was killed.
The senseless killing of another elderly resident of Swakopmund on Friday has sent shockwaves through the entire coastal community.
Hartman was killed between Thursday morning and Friday evening last week at his house at the corner of Amatis and Turnmarine street, in Vineta.
According to Iikuyu, Hartman was overpowered and taken to an outside bathroom by the suspect, who attacked him with bricks.
“The old man’s hands were tied behind his back and then tied-up against the outlet pipe of the toilet pot,” Iikuyu said.
The suspect also robbed the deceased of a Samsung phone and a laptop, according to the police, who also confirmed that there was also a failed attempt to open the deceased’s safe.
Hartman’s body was lying in a pool of blood when discovered on Friday morning by police officers who were alerted by a neighbour who got worried when they did not see the deceased.
Prompt action by the police led to the arrest of the suspect on Friday evening in Outjo, in the Otjizondjupa Region.