Mystery surrounds the death of a 64-year-old oupa living in a City facility for elderly people in Hanover Park who was found naked inside his cottage.
Residents living in the Hanover Cottages in Lynburg Road got a skrik on Sunday morning when police and mortuary vans arrived to remove the body of Graham Cerfontein who was last seen alive on Thursday.
Caretaker Said Jacobs, 65, says he last saw Graham when he came to collect bread and milk donated to the tenants.
GROOT SKRIK: Caretaker of Hanover Cottages finds Oupa's body
“The next day I knocked on his door and there was no answer,” explains Jacobs.
“Over the weekend, one of the tenants became worried when they didn’t see him and told me to come have a look.”
Jacobs says on Sunday, he arrived to find the handle of the cottage door broken off but the gate locked.
“The door was halfway open and something was not right.
“Clothes, chairs and blankets were lying around, it looked like a junk house.”
He says it appeared there had been a scuffle and he decided to break open the gate with a crowbar but got a helse skrik when he found Graham on the bed.
“He was lying naked on the bed with his mouth open and there was a blanket,” says Jacobs.
“We couldn’t see any injuries but the whole thing was weird.
“We called the police and his family and we still asked the officers if they were going to take statements from us who found the body, but they just said no.
He adds: “Graham was a friendly guy who loved gardening. He enjoyed making bouquets for weddings. We just find this whole thing weird.”
ODD: Door handle broken
While Philippi police say they have no record of the death, Graham’s family confirmed that two cops were on the scene and asked for his personal details.
A 51-year-old relative, who asked not to be named, says: “There were two officers and we went to Philippi Police station, who gave us documentation to get the mortuary van.
“The ambulance declared him dead and he was taken away.
“We don’t know what the cause of death was but that was not the Graham we know.
“He is very neat and tidy so we cannot understand why all his things were lying around and why would he be naked?
While the cottages are owned and managed by the City’s human settlements department, spokesperson Jean-Marie de Waal Pressly, refused to comment on questions about security at the facility for the elderly.