Gauteng Provincial Investigating Unit arrested a 31-year-old man for the murder of businessman Werner Josef Peherchtold (76) and his friend Johann Botha at an informal settlement next to Jeppe Hostel on March 18.
Also read: Three nabbed in connection to business robbery and murder
Peherchtold and Botha, who was a producer and presenter of the TV programme 50/50, were shot and killed at Zebra Inn in Jeppestown in June last year.
Jeppe SAPS spokesperson Captain Richard Munyai said the 31-year-old suspect has been on the run since the murder took place.
Munyai said on the day of the incident the suspects bought drinks at Zebra Inn before shooting and killing Peherchtold and Botha.
Also read: Yeoville police nab 48 suspects
“Before the shooting, they pointed a firearm at Peherchtold and demanded money. Peherchtold told them that there is no money and Botha pleaded with the suspects not to shoot them,” he said.
Munyai said the suspects shot both of them and went into a storeroom.
“They took two 9 mm pistols and an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe and fled the scene. SAPS and paramedics were called to the scene and Peherchtold and Botha were certified dead on the scene. They both sustained two-gunshot wounds each. A case of murder and business robbery was then opened at Jeppe SAPS for investigations.
“Three suspects, two men and a woman, were arrested a few days later. The woman was arrested in KwaZulu Natal after she fled the province. A firearm with serial numbers filed off was found during the arrest,” Munyai said.
The fourth accused was arrested on March 18.
Munyai said three of the four accused, Nkosiyazi Phungula (27), Ntobeko Hlatswayo (31) and Thembi Mbatha (20) appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court where the case was postponed to April 16 for trial at the High Court in Johannesburg.
The fourth accused is yet to appear in court.
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