By Johnathan Paoli
The first court appearance of the three men suspected in the killing of a family of seven in Newtown, Newark, KwaZulu-Natal has been postponed to next week due to security concerns.
Making the announcement outside the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, KZN police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda confirmed that both the investigators and the court agreed on the postponement.
“The court and investigating officers came to an agreement that the suspects will make their first appearance on Tuesday,” Netshiunda said.
Media houses have applied for permission to record and livestream the proceedings, with a ruling on those applications expected before the next court date.
The seven victims have been named in reports as local businessman Allen Monswamy (52), his wife Sandy (57), their children Kraidon (26) and Shamaria (20), and relatives Gonosagren Padayachee (51), Mooniamma Padayachee (78) and Mariama Happanah (83).
They were allegedly kidnapped from their Newark home on Tuesday night and their bodies later identified in a remote area near Melmoth by the suspects after their arrest.
Investigations indicate that the Monswamys were held captive for several hours, during which they were assaulted and forced to hand over bank cards and personal identification numbers.
Police said that Shamaria was sexually assaulted at least twice during the ordeal.
It was previously confirmed that the investigation began when a domestic worker arrived at the home on Wednesday morning and discovered it had been ransacked, with vehicles missing and the family nowhere to be found.
Officers from multiple units were then mobilised and traced a cellphone belonging to one of the victims, leading to the arrest of two suspects in the Hlomendlini area later that day.
Further information directed investigators to Sundumbili, where a third suspect was arrested in possession of a firearm.
One of the accused had previously worked for the family.
Further investigations revealed that several bank transactions were made from the victims’ accounts.
The suspects, aged 21, 26 and 28, are expected to face multiple charges, including murder, kidnapping, robbery and rape.
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