The Directorate cracked the mysterious case less than a month after taking it over from local police. The suspects who are aged 27 and 34 respectively were apprehended in Welkom on Friday, June 14, over eight months after Karl Reich, the victim, was reported missing. Free State Hawks spokesperson, Lynda Steyn, reveals in addition to the arrest, the directorate has also managed to locate Reich’s body in Pretoria, Gauteng, where his alleged assailants confessed to leaving his already lifeless body.

The accused are alleged to have accosted the victim in his Jim Fouche Park home and strangled him. They then placed the deceased’s body in the boot of one of his cars before making way with two vehicles – a Kia and a Honda - belonging to Reich as well as a number of household items, namely two TVs, speakers, a watch and a cell phone.

Reich’s abandoned body was found on 25 September 2018 in Pretoria, unbeknownst to his concerned family, a day after his neighbour alerted police when noticing something was amiss in the elderly man’s home. The body was taken to the state mortuary and a post-mortem was performed. After no connection was made to a case and the body remained unclaimed, the 82-year old was given a pauper’s funeral in the capital.

Steyn says the deceased’s body will be exhumed and handed over to his family. “From the Hawks' side, our condolences to the family, they have been heartsore for the last eight months,” concludes the spokesperson.

A third suspect is, however, still at large and the Hawks are in pursuit of the two men’s accomplice. The suspects will appear in the Local Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, June 18.  

OFM News