Niël Terblanché
The countrywide manhunt for Wentzel Maasdorp ended in the central business district of Windhoek on Tuesday afternoon when members of the Namibian Police arrested him.
According to Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, the head of the police’s public relations division, the suspect was apprehended in the area of the capital colloquially known as Triple J while he was trying to get a lift to Rehoboth.
Earlier on Tuesday the Namibian Police in the Kavango East Region reported that the light metallic blue 3 Series BMW was found parked near a filling station in Rundu.
Maasdorp was last seen on Thursday afternoon while driving the BMW with registration number N60737W away from the Eucalyptus apartment complex in which Delia Angelique Maasdorp lived
On Sunday, the body of the 40-year-old Delia Maasdorp, the former wife of Advocate Roman Maasdorp, was discovered wrapped in blankets that were tied tightly with a piece of rope in the lounge area of the apartment.
Police investigators also found bloodstains on one of the sofas in the lounge where Maasdorp’s body was discovered.
On Monday the Namibian Police issued a bulletin in which they requested the public’s assistance in tracing Wentzel Maasdorp.
It was also established that he was wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of Delia Maasdorp.
Deputy Commissioner Shikwambi confirmed that the stolen BMW was found in Rundu on Tuesday.
“It is alleged that the suspect was able to get a lift from Rundu back to Windhoek after leaving the BMW parked near the service station in Rundu. He was arrested while he looking for a lift to Rehoboth,” she said.
Besides the BMW, it is suspected that Wentzel Maasdorp also stole the murder victim’s flat-screen television set, a laptop computer and her iPhone.
On Monday, a friend of Delia Maasdorp confirmed that Advocate Ramon Maasdorp and Wentzel Maasdorp are related to each other.
Although a post-mortem examination still has to be performed on the victim to determine the time and the cause of her death, it is suspected that she has been dead since Thursday night or Friday morning.
