Durban - A cocktail bar owner was shot dead in the driveway of his sister’s home on Thursday night, in front of his wife and family.
Kevin Launspach, 37, had fetched his sister and brother-in-law from their home in Glen Place, Moseley Park, when they were confronted by robbers.
They were going to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Pinetown.
Launspach’s wife, Lindsey, was seated in the passenger seat while his sister Bronwen sat in the back.
His brother-in-law, Henry Coetser, was locking the front gate when he noticed a car drive up the road.
“At first I thought the driver was lost. I walked up to the car to ask them if they needed directions”
He said three men jumped out the car with firearms.
Coetser said he was forced to the ground and one suspect ripped off his neck chain and pointed a gun at his head.
The other men confronted Launspach and took the women’s handbags.
Coetser said during the commotion he heard one of the suspects say “don’t look up” before a shot went off.
“It happened so fast.
“One man grabbed Kevin’s wallet from his pocket and (found) his gun.”
The robbers then fled.
Coetser said he took Launspach out of the car to administer CPR.
“I realised that an ambulance might take long so I put him in the back seat and drove to the nearest hospital. Along the way I realised he was dead.”
Launspach, of Northdene, leaves behind two children Carma, 3, and Mason, who will turn 2 next month.
He was the owner of the Log Coffee & Cocktail Lounge in Queensburgh.
Bronwen said the family were left devastated.
She added that her brother was a charismatic person and had the nickname “Smiley” because he had a smile on his face, no matter what the circumstances.
Daily News