Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo
21 February 2024
Hermanus De Laray (52), a farm owner, and William Underhay (40), who is a farm manager, appeared before the Evander Magistrate Court on Tuesday, 20 February 2024 for their bail judgment.
The duo is facing charges of two counts of murder, two counts of violation of a corpse, Two counts of defeating the ends of justice and intimidation.
The two male suspects were arrested by the police in Evander following the disappearance of two victims, Sthembiso Mbuyiseni Mnikathi (30) and Buhlebekhaya Ximba (30), who went missing at a certain farm near Leslie on 19 May 2023.
It is said that a group of five men went hunting at a certain farm during the night of the said date (19 May 2023). The men were somehow spotted inside the farm, and shots were allegedly fired.
Three managed to escape out of the farm unharmed, while the other two were never seen again by their fellows.An inquiry for two missing persons was opened for investigation.
The team of men and women in Blue worked tirelessly and gathered some crucial information, and certain individuals were identified as people who may assist with some clues that would help in solving the case.
These people were able to provide valuable details in relation to the investigation.
It then came to light that two suspects, De Laray and Underhay, were somehow entangled in a shooting of the two missing victims, who could have possibly died.
The police are of the view that the suspects could have somehow disposed of their bodies somewhere else, far away from the farm.Up to so far, the investigation by the police indicates that some crucial evidence was collected at the crime scene, which is more convincing to the investigators who believe that a tragedy may have befell the two victims.
On 18 January 2024, the two suspects were traced and arrested, then appeared in court.
The duo were denied bail by the Evander Magistrate Court and remanded in custody for further investigation.
The case was then postponed to 20 March 2024.
