Kimberley - The decomposing body of a 35-year-old man was found hanging from the roof beam of his house, with both his feet and hands tied and a grave dug in his yard.
The police in Galeshewe have stated that they are investigating a case of murder after ruling out suicide.
Members of the community’s attention to the house in which Marshall Bogacwi lived alone in Tlhageng, Galeshewe was drawn by a “rotten stench that intensified” for about a week before the gruesome discovery.
Bogacwi’s body was found covered in flies and worms, as he hung with an extension cord around his neck from a roof beam in the lounge of his house in Nche Street.
Police have, however, ruled out the possibility of a suicide because Bogacwi had his hands tied with cable ties behind his back. His feet were also tied together with cable ties.
One neighbour, Bruce Xabanisa, said he thought an animal had died in his (Xabanisa’s) house or in the yard because of the smell.
“I unpacked my whole house, pulling away furniture and sweeping everywhere but the smell just seemed to get worse. Then I decided to look over the wall to Marshall’s house, thinking that there was perhaps a dead animal in his yard. We were good friends and talked every day. He was, however, in Johannesburg for the last month or so,” Xabanisa said.
While looking over the wall, Xabanisa saw a lot of flies coming from an open window at the back of the house.
“Seeing the mass of flies as well as the pitch black curtain (of flies) that had formed inside the closed windows, I knew something was wrong. I thought he had died in his sleep,” Xabanisa said.
He then contacted Bogacwi’s family members, who had the keys to the house.
They, together with police, managed to open the front door of the house and push away a couch that was placed in front of the door, before making the shocking discovery.
Bogacwi’s body hung from a roof beam with an extension cord around his neck. Under his feet, a plastic children’s chair was covered in dark bodily fluids that were seeping from the body.
Bogacwi family spokesman Isaak Bogacwi said he could hardly see the body because it was “completely covered” in flies.
“The smell was unbearable... there were worms coming out of a wound on his head.. his body was pitch black. It was the most terrifying sight that I have ever encountered,” Isaak said.
He added that the deceased was fully dressed in a neat jacket and shoes, like he was on his way to something important. Over his shoulders a backpack, containing his ID document, banking details and a Bible, also indicated that he was on his way somewhere.
Isaak added that outside the house, a grave, big enough to bury a man in, had also been dug, further raising suspicions that he was murdered and was to be buried there.
The family spent their Easter weekend cleaning the house and trying to get rid of the stench that had not subsided by Monday.
They pulled out the carpet where Bogacwi’s bodily fluids had left a dark stain and burned it in the “grave” dug outside.
They told the DFA that they suspected that Bogacwi had been tortured by someone he knew to get a PIN for his bank card because he had inherited some money from his mother after her death two years ago.
“He must have known and trusted whoever did this to him because there are no signs of forced entry, indicating to us that he opened his house freely to his killers,” they said.
They added that forensic investigators told them that, judging by the extent of the body’s decomposition, Bogacwi had been dead for at least four days before his body was discovered and that he must have been dead before he was hung up.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Olebogeng Tawana confirmed on Monday that the Galeshewe police were investigating a case of murder following the discovery of a man’s body.
“The deceased’s neighbours became concerned about the stench which was coming out of the house where the deceased lived and alerted the police. Upon investigation we discovered the decomposed body of Marshall Bogacwi hanging from the roof inside the house in which he was living in. His arms and legs were tied with cable ties. It is the suspected that the man was murdered but no arrests have been made,” Tawana said.
He added that anyone with information that could assist police in the investigation to contact the investigating officer, Detective Constable Bapallo Motshepe, on 082 469 0139.
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