UPDATE: Robbery turned to murder
LINDEN – Friends, neighbours and family of murdered ex-cop say he was a good man.
A 53-year-old former cop was murdered in front of his wife and son in his Linden home in the early hours of 17 February.
André, his wife Rista and 13-year-old son Dario Fabricius were attacked by three armed men in their home on 7th Street at 3am while they slept.
The men were in possesion of a gun and two axes.
“My sister was asleep in her room and her son Dario was in the next room also sleeping. My brother-in-law was upstairs because he used to snore a lot and slept upstairs. My sister was woken by the intruders. They tied her up and then they told her to go get my nephew before tying them both up,” retold Nadia de Kock, sister to André’s wife Rista.
According to de Kock, the intruders asked for coins, jewellery, and money.
“They then untied my sister and told her to open the safe. And then tied her up again but this time it was not as tight as it was the first time.”
De Kock further informed that André, unaware of what was happening in his home, walked down the stairs with a small throw on his shoulder.
“My brother-in-law had a gun, but he didn’t bring it with him so we think that maybe he was coming downstairs to watch cricket. The man with a gun then shot him in the heart as he came down the stairs.”
The assailants subsequently fled the scene.
It is believed the intruders gained exit to the premises through the backyard.
The Fabricius family moved to Linden about three years ago.
André used to be a policeman in a robbery and murder unit in Pretoria.
According to a neighbour, who wanted to remain anonymous, “The deceased was a great man. He always waved and smiled at the neighbours. It is a tragic situation that he had to die like this”.
Linden security expert Fareed Hoosen said André was known as a kind-hearted man.
“Although I didn’t know him personally, everyone knew him as a very good man. He was gentle and people respect him because he was also an ex-policemen. You never expect anything like this to happen to an ex-policeman,” said Hoosen.
According to Hoosen, there has been an increase in housebreakings and car theft in Linden, which is a cause for concern.
“Residents should come together to help in making Linden a safer community. We must talk to our neighbours and exchange numbers. Whenever there is something suspicious going on we can call our neighbours and the police. If we all work together things may improve.”
