Murdered man found tied up inside house on EC smallholding

A man was found dead - with his hands and feet bound together with an electrical cord - on his smallholding in what appears to be a murder robbery.

The 67-year-old man, whose next of kin is still being tracked down, was found lying on the living room floor of his home in Rocklands, near Port Elizabeth, on Monday morning.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the discovery was made by the gardener at about 8.45am when he arrived at the house for work.

“The gardener went to the nearby shed to change as per usual, but  became suspicious when he noticed his bicycle missing from the shed."

When he went to the house, he noticed the door standing open, but his knocking went unanswered. 

"He decided to start working in the garden, but became concerned when nobody came out to greet him,” she said.

“The gardener went back to the house a short while later and knocked again. On not getting a reply, he went into the house and found the deceased tied up on the floor.”

Naidu said the gardener ran to the neighbouring plot where he called for help.

“Detectives are still in the process of trying to determine what happened. It would appear valuables are missing from the house and the safe has been is opened.

"It is unclear whether the deceased had any firearms and whether they were in the safe at the time,” she said.

“The victim's vehicle is still in the garage and it is not clear whether the suspects used their own vehicle or fled on foot.”

Naidu said the cause of death was unknown at this stage.

“There is a mark on his head and we are awaiting the forensic report to determine what caused the wound,” she said. 

A case of murder and house robbery is under investigation.