Further delays extend anxious wait for answers in Jacques Freitag murder case

The anxious wait for answers surrounding the brutal murder of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag has been drawn out further due to another delay in bail proceedings.

Controversial former lawyer Rudolph “Rudie” Lubbe, 52, and his lover Shantellè Oosthuizen, 42, made their second appearance at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 24 July.

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

No bail yet for Freitag murder accused

During their brief appearance, the State requested a postponement until 31 July in the application in order to verify the accused’s addresses.

According to the official 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 golden boy of South African athletics.

On Wednesday morning, state prosecutor Liana Bosman requested that they remain in police custody at SAPS Pretoria Moot.

Jacques Freitag murder mystery

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.

Freitag’s sister, Chrissie Lewis, told the Sunday Times that Freitag’s face was unrecognisable when his body was found and that her boyfriend, Theo Botha, could only identify him through a tattoo.

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Sabie arrest: Couple claim they were ‘on holiday’

Oosthuizen and Lubbe vanished after they were questioned in connection with the grim murder of Freitag.

They were arrested on Tuesday, 16 July at a guest house in Sabie, Mpumalanga, following a manhunt for the 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.

According to private investigator Hennie Viljoen from Spesialised Security Services (SSS) who has worked alongside the police in the investigation, the couple claimed that they were not on the run, but “on holiday in Sabie” and unaware of the warrants of arrest.

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