Killer conspiracy? State charges lawyer, lover for Freitag murder at first court appearance

The two prime suspects in the investigation for the bloody murder of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag appeared at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning, 18 July.

Disgraced former lawyer Rudolph “Rudie” Lubbe, 52, and his lover Shantellè Oosthuizen, 42, have now been formally charged for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Lubbe was struck off the roll of attorneys in 2006 after complaints that he had been unprofessional and stolen money from his trust account.

According to the charge sheet, the couple is accused of conspiring “unlawfully and willfully” with Freitag between May and June this year to murder Oosthuizen’s fiancé, Louis Harmse.

They have also been charged for the murder of the former top athlete.

The 42-year-old Freitag’s decomposing body was found on 1 July with three gunshot wounds, multiple stab wounds and a broken arm in a field near the Zandfontein Cemetery, Pretoria West.

Jacques Freitag murder saga: Lubbe and Oosthuizen in court

In stark contrast to the smiling couple on the notice of their arrest warrants, a demure Oosthuizen appeared in the dock in a sombre black shirt and tights, while a bearded Lubbe, dressed in a gunmetal grey suit, stood with his eyes fixed forward.

Prosecutor Liana Bosman asked the court to postpone the matter, saying the State still needed to verify some of the information required for the bail application.

Following their late-morning appearance, the couple’s lawyer,  Steve Hefferman from Hefferman (SDH) Attorneys, told The Citizen that they will be remanded in custody at the Pretoria Moot Police Station until their next appearance on 24 July.

“The State requested that they remain in police custody at SAPS Pretoria Moot. Hefferman (SDH) Attorneys will now also represent Oosthuizen.

“Our final instructions from our clients will be presented in court when they appear again,” Hefferman said.

Couple arrested at Sabie guest house

Lubbe and Oosthuizen were arrested on Tuesday morning at a guest house in Sabie, Mpumalanga, following a short but intense manhunt for the runaway couple.

Captain Martin Smith, the investigative officer at Pretoria’s Hercules Police Station, shared with The Citizen that the police received a tip-off about their “hideout” from a member of the public.

“We were notified by someone who recognised them from the warrant of arrest notice circulated, as well as from media reports.”

Smith added that the surprised couple was unarmed and did not resist arrest when the police swooped on the guesthouse at about 10am on Tuesday.

Freitag murder case: More arrests, murder weapons?

Asked whether more arrests could be imminent, Smith said:

“At the moment, they are the only suspects in the Freitag murder case.”

He confirmed that the police are yet to find the firearm and knife with which Freitag was killed before his body was dumped in the field.

Fatal love triangle?

It is believed that the 2003 high jumper’s involvement in the intricate love triangle between Lubbe, Oosthuizen and Harmse, boils down to a “botched hit”.

Harmse told Rapport over the weekend that he was allegedly attacked by Freitag with a brick at an apartment next to Lubbe’s rental home in Montana Park on 13 June.

He claimed that he was lured to the apartment by Oosthuizen, who told him that Lubbe organised a job on a farm for him. The two of them were apparently going to leave together the next morning.

On his arrival at the flat, Oosthuizen reportedly told him that he should make himself at home while she and Lubbe were going to buy drugs.

Rapport reported that it was during their absence that Freitag launched the surprise attack on Harmse.

According to the publication, Freitag allegedly did drugs on a regular basis with Lubbe.

ALSO READ: Jacques Freitag: Downward drug spiral of former SA world high jump champion

Freitag knew Lubbe and Oosthuizen ‘well’

The Citizen also previously reported that, according to well-known private investigator Mike Bolhuis, Freitag knew Lubbe and Oosthuizen “well”.

The brutal attack on Harmse took place five days before the high jumper was last seen alive leaving a guest house in Pretoria West where he was reportedly dropped off by Lubbe on the morning of 17 June.

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