Durban - Five men have been arrested for allegedly killing an elderly man in Bulwer in KwaZulu-Natal and stuffing his body in the boot of his car, police said on Monday.
Michael John Poval, 81, was found on Sunday at 11.30pm by his relatives. He had an open wound in his back.
“It is believed that on Saturday, the victim, who lives alone, was confronted by a group of suspects at his home where he was stabbed before his body was stuffed into the boot of his car,” spokesman Thulani Zwane said in a statement.
The wound was believed to have been inflicted by a sharp instrument.
The attackers took the victim's money box containing cash and fled in his other car.
The body was found on Sunday, after a friend - who delivered food for him on Saturday - found the house door open, but left the food without seeing Poval.
“On returning to the house on Sunday, she found the door still open and the food where she had left it. She contacted Poval's relatives, who discovered his body in a (boot) of his car,” Zwane said.
“They also noticed that his white Volkswagen Jetta and money box containing a large amount of cash had been stolen. They called the police.”
While investigating the crime, police spotted the missing car, with five occupants, travelling along the Edendale main road towards Pietermaritzburg and gave chase, he said.
The vehicle was cornered and all the occupants were arrested and the cash recovered.
The suspects, aged between 17 and 35, would appear in the Hlanganani Magistrate's Court soon on charges of murder and robbery.
Sapa