/ 19 April 2000

BABY AMONG FIVE FAMILY MURDER VICTIMS

THE bodies of a family of five, including a month-old baby girl, were found in a bedroom in their luxury Swawelpoort, Pretoria East, home on Tuesday afternoon. Police spokesman Captain George Francis said the bodies of 37-year-old property magnate Wessel Bester, his 35-year-old wife Wianda and their three children, aged between a month and four years, were found by a family member at about 3pm. The baby had been shot in her cot. “We suspect that they were shot in Monday. A 9mm Beretta pistol was found close to the man’s body. We are investigating the possibility that the man shot his family before shooting himself,” said Capt Francis. The motive for the killings was not known. No suicide notes were found on the scene.