New allegations have come to light in the murder case against Pomona businessman Anton Bouwer (56), who is accused of fatally shooting three family members and the family’s domestic worker and attempting to kill his wife.
He is facing four charges of murder, one of attempted murder and a charge of defeating the ends of justice.
The Benoni City Times has learned from a reliable source that the firearm used in the commission of the crimes was reportedly not found at the scene.
Also Read: Family murder: Court postpones Pomona businessman’s bail application
It is also alleged that nothing was stolen at the first crime scene, which is Bouwer’s parents’ home in Bredell. However, an undisclosed amount of money is said to be missing from the second crime scene, the Bouwer family home in Fairleads.
SAPS provincial spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo declined to comment on this, stating that the provincial police are no longer commenting on this case to the media because the matter is sub-judice and ongoing in court.
Bouwer was arrested on January 22 after he allegedly went on a shooting spree, killing his parents, Robert (78) and Bettie (73), at their Bredell home. He allegedly also shot and killed his stepdaughter Natasha (22) and domestic worker Elizabeth Mahlangu (56) at a home in Fairleads, Benoni.
His wife, Adélle (43), was also shot but was airlifted to hospital. Bouwer turned the gun on himself at the Fairleads home but survived and was hospitalised.
A charge sheet seen by the Benoni City Times states that “exhibits” were removed from the crime scenes – relating to the fourth charge against Bouwer, that of defeating the ends of justice.
#SayTheirNames
Bouwer appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on February 2, where his bail application was to get underway. However, his defence team was not ready to proceed.
Wearing a plaid shirt and brown pants, Bouwer, with a minor wound on his left cheek, stood in the dock with his hands crossed below his belt.
During the court proceedings, friends and families of the suspect and the four deceased filled the public gallery. Before making their way inside the courtroom, they gathered outside the court in groups while some shed tears.
A large banner with the four victims’ faces was placed outside the court with the words #SayTheirNames. Speaking to the media outside the court, Adélle’s attorney, Leonie Naude, said her client is still recovering. However, she declined to disclose if she’s still in hospital. “No funeral arrangements have been made for the three deceased because of a multitude of things,” said Naude.
The State intends to oppose bail and is pushing for a schedule-six offence. Brother’s murder Benoni private investigator Danie Day has revealed that 13 years ago Bouwer was allegedly ‘a person of interest’ in the murder of his brother, Robbie Bouwer.
According to the SAPS Ekurhuleni district communications officer Captain Nelda Sekgobela, a case of murder was registered at Kempton Park police on August 31, 2011, after police officers responded to a scene in R23 Road, Bredell, where a body was found beside an abandoned, burnt-out vehicle.
Day said Bouwer underwent a polygraph test in connection with the crime. It is alleged the brothers had a business conflict, which apparently led to their father, Robert, intervening to initiate peace.
Sekgobela said this investigation is closed and nobody was arrested.
Mike Bolhuis Private investigator
Mike Bolhuis confirmed that his company, Specialised Security Services, is investigating the Bouwer family murder matter but not robbery speculations because they have established that there was no robbery related to the shootings.
“We are busy with an ‘inclusion and exclusion’ investigation, which means that we take all the hearsay and assumptions and investigate them to see if they are true,” Bolhuis said.
Specialist investigator Antoinette Coetser, of Specialised Security Services, added that the Bouwer family requested them to assist with investigations.
“We discovered there were different aspects to this matter and when we presented a conclusion to the family they didn’t want to accept it, so ended the mandate for us to continue with the investigation.
“However, we are continuing to work with the police,” Coetser said. Bouwer will reappear in the Kempton Magistrate’s Court on February 16.
Also Read: UPDATE: Family murder: Domestic worker laid to rest
