39-Year-Old Man Arrested In Connection with Hillary Gardee’s Brutal Murder
According to police, a man was arrested on Friday in connection with the BRUTAL murder of Hillary, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gar
The police said the suspect arrested in connection with Hillary Gardee’s murder is a 39-year-old man. “We did make one arrest on Friday but the investigation is still continuing,” Mpumalanga police commissioner, Lt-Gen Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, speaking late on Friday outside the home of Gardee’s father, former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee.
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On Saturday, shortly before Gardee’s funeral, Manamela’s office issued the following statement: “The male suspect is facing a murder charge and more charges could be added against him as the investigation proceeds.
“He is expected to appear before the Nelspruit magistrate’s court on Monday. Police are adamant that more arrests could be made in connection with the case.”
The suspect was arrested at his “hiding place” in Schoemansdal, east of Mbombela and just north of the border with eSwatini, said the statement.
Manamela expressed gratitude to Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Police Commissioner Gen Fanie Masemola for “the unwavering support that they gave to the province with regard to this case and for having shown trust as well as confidence on the team that was assembled by the Mpumalanga provincial commissioner”.
She added: “We also want to thank the public for their overwhelming support and encouragement as we toiled since we began working on this case.
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“We were never derailed but our joy will be fulfilled when justice is served and every person that had a hand on the murder of Hillary Gardee is brought to book.”
Gardee, a 28-year-old IT graduate, was discovered murdered on Tuesday, four days after she went missing.
Her body was discovered in a field near Mbombela. She’d been shot, presumably in the back of the head. Gardee vanished after going shopping at a Spar, about 6 kilometres from the house she shared with her brother and her adopted three-year-old daughter
On the evening of April 29, the little girl was discovered abandoned in the street about a kilometer from their home. She told strangers who found her that her mother had been “fighting,” raising the alarm that something was wrong.
According to the family, there was a cardless banking transaction involving R1,300, indicating that Gardee sent herself this money around the time of her kidnapping.
According to EFF and family spokesperson Sinawo Tambo, this was a deviation to make it appear like a common criminal act. “One cannot shoot someone in the head for R1,300. The risk is too high. It doesn’t inspire us to believe this was a common criminal act. If you can afford a gun and ammunition, you don’t need that much money to conduct a crime. We are a family that is not stupid,” said Tambo.
