20190311 NETWERK 24 Koos STrydom (53) is een van die vyf beskuldigdes wat tereg staan op die moord van Joeye en Anisha van Niekerk wat is uitgestel tot Augustus in die hoogeregshof in Pretoria. Foto: Deaan Vivier
Mooinooi murders: Koos Strydom reportedly brain dead in hospital
It is not known whether Strydom is brain dead or past the stage of rigamortis.
20190311 NETWERK 24 Koos STrydom (53) is een van die vyf beskuldigdes wat tereg staan op die moord van Joeye en Anisha van Niekerk wat is uitgestel tot Augustus in die hoogeregshof in Pretoria. Foto: Deaan Vivier
The details are sketchy and the Department of Correctional Services has yet to address the reports but it is alleged that Koos Strydom, the infamous mastermind behind the Mooinooi murders, has been incapacitated in hospital since Monday.
Mooinooi murders: What’s the latest?
In a recently published Citizen report, an image showing a man who resembles Koos Strydom, with tubes running into his mouth, has further fanned speculation around his health condition.
It is believed that Strydom who, along with his wife, Mercia, Alex Modau, James and Jack Sithole, stands accused of murdering Joey and Anisha van Niekerk, a same-sex couple from Mooinooi, was found unconscious in his prison cell at Kgosi Mampuru II.
The image that has been featured in the cited publication shows a person — said to be Strydom — with a bruised and swollen face. The verbiage that has been used to describe Strydom’s condition leans towards the murder suspect being brain dead. This, or the allegation that the Mooinooi mastermind is dead, has not been confirmed by the Department of Correctional Services.
How Kos Strydom allegedly masterminded Mooinooi murders
It has been two years since the torched bodies of Joey and Anisha were found hanging in Mooinooi, a mining town in North West.
Joey and Anisha van Niekerk who were tortured and killed for their farm in #Mooinooi in December 2017…#SABCNews pic.twitter.com/oSVtU3fjH5
— Ofentse Setimo (@Stimoroller) August 19, 2019
Prosecutors leading the multiple-murder investigation believe that Strydom was the mastermind behind the heinous crimes. They have reason to believe that Strydom was central in the rape and torture that the same-sex couple endured.
Besides an additional 2014 murder charge that has been brought against the 53-year-old for his alleged involvement in the death of Amanda May, a Rustenburg resident, Strydom was also recently hit with further charges for allegedly placing R200 000 on the heads of eight witnesses that are central to the Mooinooi case.
R200 000 to kill 8 people – that’s how much murder accused Koos Strydom was ready to pay – to have state witnesses killed. #CarteBlanche pic.twitter.com/eOfs5FuIds
— Chwayitisa Futshane (@Chwayitisa) September 9, 2018
The Department of Correctional Services has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
