Cape Town – A South African man currently serving 15 years for murder in KwaZulu-Natal and his Irish ex-girlfriends are facing extradition to Ireland in connection with a 2014 double murder case.
Neville van de Westhuizen, 40 and his ex-girlfriends fugitive, Rush Lawrence, who was arrested by the Hawks in Bloemfontein last month, are both linked to the crime in Ireland.
According to Hawks spokesperson, Captain Christopher Singo, they received information that Lawrence was in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, September 28, reported IOL.
“Her arrest comes after Interpol issued a warrant of arrest against her regarding the murder of Eoin O’ Connor, 32, and Anthony Keegan, 33, who were found murdered in Ireland in 2014. After the murder of the deceased persons, the suspect then fled the country,” the report quoted Singo as saying.
Interpol SA have arrested an Ireland fugitive who was tracked in one of prisons in KZN. The fugitive is serving a 15-year-jail term for the murder a teenager in SA. Neville Van Der Westhuizen (40) & his Irish ex-GF Ruth Lawrence allegedly murdered two Irish in 2014 & fled to SA pic.twitter.com/d6jFsLTbED
— BEAST OF NEWS (@EversonLuhanga) November 19, 2022
According to police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe, both Van der Westhuizen and Lawrence are wanted in connection with the double murder of two friends in Ireland.
“In their latest breakthrough, Interpol South Africa has tracked down an Ireland fugitive to one of the country’s correctional centres in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The fugitive is currently serving a 15-year-jail sentence in SA for murder,” said Mathe in a statement.
They allegedly fled Ireland after the murder, however, Lawrence was traced and arrested by the Hawks in Bloemfontein last month.
“She has already appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on the murder charges. The matter has already been enrolled in court for an extradition inquiry.”
Van der Westhuizen has also already appeared before the Durban Magistrate’s Court and his extradition inquiry has been postponed to 12 December.
“These ongoing arrests and take down operations should send a stern warning to those fugitives of justice who are in the country and criminals in South Africa that we are squeezing the space for them to operate, either they hand themselves over to authorities or we fetch them ourselves,” said National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola.
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Picture: Twitter/ @EversonLuhanga
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
