Two young men arrested for freezer murders

Two old people were beaten and their hands and feet were tied with cables, before they were placed in the deep freeze

Two men allegedly involved in the murder of an elderly couple in Belfast have been arrested, Mpumalanga police said.

The first man, aged 21, was arrested in a house in Mamelodi, north of Pretoria, on Saturday, Colonel Leonard Hlathi said.

“The suspect was cornered by the police and had no chance to escape.” 

The second man, 24, managed to escaped by shooting at police.

But he was caught in Lydenburg on Monday.

A firearm believed to have been stolen from the couple, and a Nissan double cab bakkie stolen from another elderly couple in Carolina, were recovered, Hlathi said.

The bodies of Rudolf and Elna van Heerden, both 79, were discovered in a freezer at their home in Belfast on January 9.

Their hands and feet had been bound.

The killers stole their 4x4 and two firearms. Beeld reported last week that they had to abandon the vehicle when they filled it with petrol, instead of diesel.

“The investigation with regard to the case is continuing and more charges will be added against the suspects,” Hlathi said.

They would appear in the Belfast Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday facing charges of murder, armed robbery, and theft.