Cape Town – Police have appealed to anyone with information about the killing of an elderly couple in their home in Ottery to come forward.
The couple, aged 82, were found dead on Sunday afternoon.
It is alleged that they were strangled, but police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the circumstances were being investigated and an autopsy would determine the cause of death.
Zubayr Adams, who also lives on the property, said the couple were renting at the back and the last time he saw them was on Saturday morning.
“The old lady was standing at the front door, talking to the gardener. That was the last time I saw them.”
He said the couple's family had been there to look for them, but there was no response from the house.
“In the morning (Sunday) one family friend came and we went around and we shouted for them through the window and got no response.
"We assumed that another family member picked them up or they had plans.”
Adams said family returned a little later and that was when they discovered the bodies.
“The bodies were discovered by family. They put a phone in the window and then they saw the bodies.”
Adams said the property was quite secure and that the couple would have to buzz-in any visitors and unlock a smaller gate.
“It looks like, from what I have seen and heard, they were trying to rob them.
"There was a break-in next door about a month back, but nothing was stolen.
‘‘Then, in the year, there was a break-in opposite, where they came through the vibracrete and held them at gunpoint.
‘‘Down the road one of my friends also got gunpointed. It’s more gunpoint robberies here. It’s not like gangsters, it's like common-looking people.”
Adams said the incident left him and his family in shock.
“It is very sad. My mom and I spoke about it after the police had left. We didn’t know them that well. They were private people.”
Adams said the family was still waiting for the bodies to be released because police had to conduct autopsies, but he said the alt al-Janzah was expected to take place late yesterday.
In March last year, the elderly parents of education expert Professor Graeme Bloch - Rosalie Bloch, 84, and Aubrey Jackson, 96 - were murdered in their home in Mowbray.
Last month, police arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the murder of an elderly couple, Piet and Elmien Steyn, on their farm in Bonnievale.
Anyone with information regarding the Ottery murder can anonymously contact the Lansdowne police or Crime Stop on 0860010111, or SMS Crime Line on 32211