Latest news with #doublemurder
The Herald
11 hours ago
- The Herald
Education MEC condemns heinous attack on teenage girls
The Eastern Cape department of education has condemned the murders of two teenage girls whose charred remains were discovered in KwaNobuhle on Wednesday. In a statement on Thursday, education MEC Fundile Gade expressed deep sadness at what he described as a heinous and senseless double murder. Though their identities have not yet officially been made public, Gade said they were both pupils at Nkululeko Secondary School. He extended the department's condolences to the victims' families, friends and peers. 'The department can confirm that the SA Police Service is conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,' Gade said. He urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist the authorities, adding that the safety and wellbeing of all pupils was a priority. He said they would provide support to the families of the deceased and work closely with law enforcement to ensure a comprehensive investigation. 'We are deeply troubled by the heinous crime committed against two of our schoolgirls in Kariega. 'Daily, I am convinced that there is a silent war being meted out against women and young girls. 'We empathise with the families, their colleagues and the community of Kariega at large. 'We urge law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned and to provide clarity about this tragedy. 'We wish the affected families strength, courage and resilience during this difficult time. 'Updates to our community of Nelson Mandela Bay will be provided as more information becomes available,' Gade said. The Herald
The Herald
14 hours ago
- The Herald
Reward offered for information about double murder at waste site
The family of the Gqeberha father and son who were shot dead during a robbery at a dump site earlier in 2025 have put up a reward for any information that may lead to an arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrators. Heinrich Minnie, 47, and his son, Tiaan, 26, were killed at the Arlington Waste Facility in Victoria Drive on February 5. Since then, little progress has been made in the double murder investigation. On Thursday, the family announced that they were offering a reward of R6,000. Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said the case was being investigated by the Eastern Cape Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Investigation team. He also confirmed the reward being offered by the victims' family. 'A R6,000 reward is being offered by the family for information given to the police that may result in the successful arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator or perpetrators responsible for these murders,' Beetge said. 'Any person with information that could assist the police in their investigation is urged to contact Warrant Officer John Lourens on 071-352-4706, or Crime Stop on 08600-10111. Callers may opt to remain anonymous.' The father and son had been disposing of rubbish at the tip in Walmer when they were gunned down in broad daylight. Tiaan was shot dead while still seated inside the vehicle, while Heinrich's body was found next to the bakkie. According to the police at the time, the suspected motive was robbery. The Herald
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Scottish gangsters shot dead in Costa del Sol bar were killed by 'rival gang hitman' apprehended in UK 'before fleeing to tax haven paradise island' - as Spanish cops detail his 'elaborate escape plan'
The gunman who shot dead Scots mobsters Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jr at a Costa del Sol pub was a member of a rival gang, Spanish police chiefs said last night. Police Scotland had insisted days after the May 31 double murder they had no information to suggest the horror crimes were in any way linked to the gang feuding which has been going on there. But Malaga-based Spanish police chief Pedro Agudo Novo today described the suspected killer arrested in Liverpool last Friday as a member of the Daniels gang which has long been at loggerheads with the Lyons gang the dead men belonged to. The suspect has not been formally named by Spanish police although they confirmed today he is 'English and not Scottish', has been remanded in custody after a first court appearance as Spain continues to try to get him extradited. The chief superintendent also revealed the dramatic arrest was made as detectives discovered the alleged gunman was about to flee his UK bolthole for a 'paradise island tax haven.' Speaking at the first press conference Spanish police have held since Monaghan and Lyons Jr were shot dead at Monaghans Irish Bar in Fuengirola after the Champions League final, Mr Agudo Novo who heads up a provincial Judicial Police unit, said: 'The double murder was carried out by a professional killer and member of one of the victims' rival gangs. 'In this case we're not talking about an independent hired killer but an internal member of the rival Daniels gang who ends up assassinating two members of an enemy gang. 'I want to highlight the high level of professionalism of this individual. Not only did he walk up to the table where the victims were sitting and kill the first man before continuing with his mission when his gun jammed. 'It's not normal for a criminal to react the way he did in the face of this unexpected problem and resolve the situation to continue and pursue his second victim inside the bar and kill him. 'His escape was also a very professional one. It was clear he had previously studied all the cameras in the area and undertaken some other investigative procedures I can't go into at this stage. 'He had his escape route perfectly planned out, picking areas where there were a lack of cameras and at one point even entering a train tunnel and crossing the tracks because he knew he couldn't be filmed there.' The police chief said 'Absolutely' when asked if he thought the suspect, now facing extradition to Spain and a double murder charge, had travelled from the UK to Spain to carry out his alleged crimes. He added: 'His escape route involved travelling from Spain to Portugal and he then took a plane from Portugal to Leeds. 'Once he got to Leeds, with the support of his gang, he changed addresses three times. 'It took us four days to get an idea of who he was and another three, so seven days in total, to get a name for the man we wanted arrested. 'That's when we contacted the British police and asked a court in Fuengirola to issue an international arrest warrant. 'The last address the suspect was tracked down to was in Liverpool. 'We discovered that the day he was arrested he was planning to flee the UK for a paradise island, a tax haven with which there would have been no extradition treaty.' Mr Agudo Novo was asked to name the destination but said he couldn't for 'operational reasons' as the investigation remained open and police were hopeful of making more arrests, although he said he believed the suspected gunman had 'acted alone.' Colleague Juan Antonio Sillero, Chief Inspector of the specialist Udyco Costa del Sol police unit which also led the operation to track down the alleged double killer, said he believed both Monaghan and Lyons Jr were the intended targets and the operation to assassinate them was launched after their rivals received information on where they would be on May 31. He said revenge killings couldn't be ruled out and they were doing 'everything possible' to avoid more bloodshed. In a statement issued after this morning's press conference at the Spanish National Police HQ in Malaga, the force said: 'The investigation began when just before midnight on May 31 a man who was hiding his face behind a cap and a scarf round his neck opened fire against two people who had been sitting on the terrace of a pub in Fuengirola. 'The first shots fired killed one victim instantly. The second victim managed to escape after taking advantage of the moment the killer's gun jammed and took refuge inside the premises until he was hit again receiving two shots which ended his life. 'Afterwards the suspect fled the scene and crossed three borders in less than 15 hours. 'After leaving Spain he reached Portugal by land and from there took a flight to the UK. 'During his journey he changed his physical appearance, and even shaved his face completely, to avoid being recognised. 'Once he was in the UK, he hid in different residential dwellings to hamper the investigation and his subsequent investigation.' Career criminal Monaghan, who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life outside a Glasgow primary school in 2017, was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010. In August 2017 he and Eddie Lyons Jr, both members of the Lyons Glasgow crime family, were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. The Fuengirola pub murders followed the fatal shooting nearly seven weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda a 15-minute drive from the Irish bar towards Marbella. He was shot dead around 8pm on April 21 in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after finishing a football match with friends. The killers fled in a getaway car that was later torched. Police are investigating the brutal assassination as a drug-related gang shooting but have yet to make any arrests. The victim has not been named but was known to come from Liverpool. Reports at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle scores and a number of international mafias are known to have a base. Four days before the Calahonda shooting a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol resort. The May 31 shootings of Monaghan, 46, and Lyons Jr, 43, had been linked to the long-running feud between their gang and the Glasgow-based Lyons Crime Family. In a statement released on June 3, Police Scotland made it clear it was not directly investigating the murders. 'The investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola is being carried out by Spanish police,' it said. 'Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested, however at this time we have no officers deployed within Spain. 'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. 'Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain are not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country. 'There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
A Woman and Baby Were Found Naked and Dead in a Park. Now an American Man Is Under Arrest in Greece
Rexal Ford, a 46-year-old American, was arrested in Greece on suspicion of killing a 30-year-old mother and her baby Surveillance footage, witness testimony and fingerprints led authorities to Ford Prosecutors believe the deaths were a double murder, and Ford is awaiting an extradition hearing in Greece as the investigation continuesGreek authorities arrested an American man on Friday on suspicion of killing a 30-year-old mother and her baby whose bodies were found by police at a park in Italy. The 46-year-old man, identified as Rexal Ford, was detained on an arrest warrant issued in Italy, citing 'strong evidence' of his alleged involvement in the death of the baby girl and her mother — who are also believed to be American — Italian news outlets, L'Unione Sarda, Il Messaggero and Corriere della Sera reported, citing prosecutors. The bodies of the mother and baby were found in Rome's Villa Pamphili park on Saturday, the local outlets reported. Both were found naked and without any identification. Investigators in Italy told CBS News that the cause of the woman's death was unknown, 'but there is a reasonable suspicion that it is a double murder,' Deputy Prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini said to the outlet. According to Rome Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, the mother was killed several days before the baby and was found several hundred meters away. The mother was found under a black bag, Lo Voi said to the local outlets. 'It is not exactly understandable that someone who was with a woman and a baby girl, once the woman and the girl died, whom he carried in his arms, would then leave the country without calling for help, without seeking assistance,' Lo Voi said, per CBS News. 'In itself, that doesn't look good.' Video surveillance and witness reports showed that the three were spotted together on several occasions, sometimes speaking in English, Corriere della Sera reported. At one point, Ford and the woman were seen arguing in the street, and police took down his information, which later led to his arrest. Police discovered the identities of the woman, her baby and Ford, by cross-referencing footage of them seen at a soup kitchen nearby the Vatican and testimonies of witnesses who were in the park along with homeless people nearby, the Italian outlet reported. Authorities were able to track Ford down due to fingerprints left on the bag covering the mother when she was found dead by police, CBS reported. He was found on the Greek island of Skiathos through cellphone to Corriere della Sera, authorities found the baby's pink dress in a trash can nearby where their bodies were found. Police estimate that the baby was around 6 to 8 months old. The mother had a tattoo of a skeleton with a surfboard that seemed to have the colors of the Lithuanian flag, the Italian outlet reported. Forensic teams also found a total of 40 items at the scene, including a bra and sleeping bag. When Ford's warrant is forwarded to Greek officials, he will appear in court for an extradition hearing, the local outlets said, citing Greek police. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Sky News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned by 'politically motivated' attack
Why you can trust Sky News The calm of an affluent cul-de-sac, north of Minneapolis, has been shattered. Yellow tape, establishing a police cordon, now marks it as the scene of a double murder. Former state speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were gunned down in their own home in the early hours of Saturday. The gardens in this street are immaculately manicured but John Sampson is tending his again, a distraction tactic perhaps. He knew the murdered couple well. His daughter was their babysitter. "Very kind, very neighbourly, very intelligent," he recalls. Of Ms Hortman, he said: "She would know other people that were on the other side of the aisle, but it didn't matter to her. "Politics was never brought into the neighbourhood." Other neighbours remained behind closed doors, where they had initially been ordered to shelter following two gun attacks. Long-standing state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had been shot and wounded in their home. Police officers sent to check on his Democratic colleague, Melissa Hortman, were too late. They encountered a man disguised as a police officer leaving her home and exchanged fire with him, but he escaped, sparking a manhunt. Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who ran for vice president last year, described the murders as "politically motivated". That's something the residents of this suburban network of streets find hard to comprehend. "Nationally and stuff, things are very volatile in the political scene and I just pray that it's not here," John Sampson told me. "I hoped it would never come anywhere near here, that anyone has to go through this type of tragedy." "I feel very sad for the children and for the family left behind," he added. Ms Hortman was a Democrat but voted with Republicans last Thursday to get a budget bill through. The compromise was painful for her - withholding free healthcare from undocumented migrants. Speaking afterwards, she tearfully explained: "I know that people will be hurt by that vote, and we worked very hard to get a budget deal that wouldn't include that provision." Whatever the motivation for the murders of the politician and her husband, two children have lost both their parents.
