The case against two Krugersdorp men suspected of targeting elderly women and robbing and killing them was postponed at the Palms Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to allow the state to continue with its investigation.
Johnny du Plooy, 26, and Shaun Oosthuizen, 38, appeared before senior magistrate Martin Kroukamp. State prosecutor Madelé Ferreira asked the court to postpone the case as there were some outstanding investigations.
The accused face two counts of murder after being positively linked to two killings on Gauteng’s East Rand.
A source close to the case told TimesLIVE that the two have been linked to the murders of 86-year-old Engela van Wyk and an unnamed 74-year-old woman at a retirement village in Alberton on September 1.
The source said that the state was also looking into centralising all the cases the two accused were positively linked to.
“A murder case in Roodepoort is still under investigation and I believe one of the suspects currently in custody was found at the crime scene,” said the source.
He also said autopsy results were still outstanding.
The suspects allegedly overpowered the elderly women and stuffed cloths in their mouths before tying them up and making off with small items that were easy to transport and sell.
They also have an ongoing court case in Mbombela, where they are accused of killing 85-year-old Hetta Potgieter at a retirement village.
“What is making us confident that the two are involved in all these murders is because their fingerprints were found at the scene and that the same modus operandi was used to kill all the elderly women,” said the source.
The case has been postponed to October 31. The men remain in custody.
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