JOHANNESBURG DISTURBING MURDERS LINKED TO COMPUTER THEFT Killings 'business hit'Marida Fitzpatrick


Johannesburg - The key to the murders of four Benoni people could lie in the world of computer crime or a vindictive former employee, say relatives and friends of the Van der Merwe family.

Frans van der Merwe, his wife, Gina, their son, Daryl, and his wife, Melissa, were all murdered on Monday morning and their bodies dumped near the Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga.

They were kidnapped from their respective homes in Farrarmere, Benoni.

The family had a computer security business called Legion Lock and Cable.

The murders,however, are believed by many to have been a professional hit linked to the business.

Beeld received an anonymous call from a person in the computer security industry who said he feared for his life.

"This murder is from the heart of a computer-theft syndicate," he said.

Legion Lock and Cable make locks and cables that lock computers and laptops to desks or other computer equipment so that they cannot be stolen.

Cutting off syndicate's lifeblood

Andrew Lange of another computer security firm said Legion was one of the market leaders in the country.

A computer component distributor, Reon Coetzee, confirmed this.

The anonymous caller said that he thought the company's equipment was so hi-tech it was "cutting off the computer-theft syndicate's lifeblood".

A friend of the Van der Merwes felt, however, that a disgruntled former employee could be behind the killings.

He did not want to divulge details, but said it could be linked to an incident that had happened a few months ago.

Ron Clarkson, the father of Melissa van der Merwe, said earlier he thought it was a professional hit.

Captain Eugene Opperman said police would not comment until a breakthrough had been made.

Edited by Iaine Harper