Four suspects appeared in Daveyton Magistrate’s Court this week in connection with the discovery of the burnt body of a missing man, a human head in a septic tank and several illegal firearms and ammunition. Two of the suspects, Ronald and Jean Holmes, are brothers, the other, Eugene Roberts, is their nephew and the fourth suspect, Mike Mpotsane, is a friend of the co-accused. The suspects hail from Putfontein and Fairleads.
They appeared in court on August 18 and August 19 and were remanded in custody until their next court appearance, on August 25, for a bail hearing. Charges include two counts of murder.
The facts of the case so far, as provided by the SAPS:
- A burnt body with a gunshot wound was discovered in Vermeulen Road, Putfontein, in May.
- A family reported a male relative missing to the Putfontein SAPS around the same time, and police, working closely with the family, were able to identify the burnt body as that of their 37-year-old relative, Tony Mziza.
- The Putfontein SAPS opened a murder investigation in connection with his death.
- Mpotswang was arrested on July 31.
- On August 2, investigations led police to the landlord of a plot in Putfontein where Mziza was a tenant and where he apparently stored plastic materials to make stationery.
- Police found an illegal firearm and multiple rounds of ammunition on the property and the landlord (Roberts) was arrested.
- On August 4, police followed up on more leads and recovered five illegal firearms and ammunition at another address in Benoni.
- On the same day, officers arrived at a plot in Eva Road, Fairleads, and searched the property. Six more firearms, one of which was illegal, and ammunition were found.
- A further search on the same property led to the discovery of a human head in a septic tank.
- The two Holmes brothers were then arrested on this Eva Road property.
- On August 5, investigations led police to three other addresses where illegal firearms and ammunition were found, bringing the total to 10 recovered illegal firearms of different calibres, including rifles.
- Police are working to uncover whether the head found in the septic tank belongs to a body found in Putfontein in June, last year.
- Another murder case, in which the body was apparently ground up and fed to pigs, also now forms part of this investigation.
Gauteng provincial SAPS spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters previously said police are working closely with the prosecuting authorities as there is reason to believe the suspects could be linked to more crimes, pending the outcome of ballistic tests.
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