Nick Klopper was found murdered in his home precisely a week after Paul Nothnagel emptied his pistol’s magazine at his family.
Klopper’s body was discovered by reaction officers from Fox Security and CPS at 09:24 on Thursday morning, who responded to reports that the gates of his home in Camborne Street, New Redruth were open.
This was strange behaviour for Klopper, who was a police reservist and worked actively with Alberton CPF.
CPF spokesperson Philip Malherbe was shocked to hear the news. He relayed his condolences to Klopper’s family and friends.
“I had spent quite some time with him the day before the murder,” he told RECORD.
“He was very upbeat and said he was opening a new chapter in his life. His story was unfortunately cut short by whoever left him for dead.”
Two reaction officers found Klopper dead in front of his safe upon entering his home. The safe had been opened and emptied, with a lone .303 calibre firearm left behind by the perpetrators. He had been shot in the stomach.
A neighbour saw Klopper in his front garden earlier the same morning. With no signs of forced entry, it appears as if the victim allowed the suspects, who are still at large, into his home.
In an unexpected twist, one of the reaction officers who came upon the body was arrested for tampering with evidence on the crime scene.
“A case has been opened against him for defeating the ends of justice,” Alberton police station’s acting commander Colonel Reckson Shiburi confirmed.
The reaction officer had allegedly picked up the victim’s mobile phone after ensuring the house was secure, with the intention of alerting his next-of-kin.
The security company who employs the reaction officer said the incident was regrettable and that it would fully cooperate with police in the investigation.
He inadvertently pocketed the mobile phone after making the call. His attempt to put the phone back in the house without being noticed failed, however.
“We noticed that the phone had been moved from its original position at the crime scene upon further inspection,” Shiburi explained. “It was not where it was originally found by the police.”
The fact that police were aware of his presence could exonerate him from murder charges when his fingerprints would be found on the scene, Shiburi pointed out.
“But that would only apply if he were proved innocent,” he said.
