Western Cape police had received an ”incredible” response from the public after the identikits of two men wanted in connection with the Sizzlers massage parlour murders in Sea Point appeared in newspapers last Friday.
Police representative Captain Etienne Terblanche said on Tuesday investigators were sifting through the information from the public, ”but obviously it’s a long drawn out process involving an incredible amount of work.”
Seven employees of the gay brothel, a client, and the owner were killed. They were found tied up and shot in the back of the head with a 9mm pistol in the early hours of January 20. Most of them had their throats slit with a carpet knife.
The sole survivor of the massacre, believed to be a man in his 20s, managed to stagger to a nearby filling station to raise the alarm even though he had suffered similar wounds. He was in a stable condition and recovering well under police guard in Groote Schuur Hospital.
Terblanche said police were still anxious to contact clients who may have arrived at Sizzlers around the time the men were murdered but were turned away by the suspects.
Police were looking for four suspects who reportedly drove off in an older model white BMW.
”We know the suspects were probably at the scene for a period of time and we also believe there could have been clients who came tothe massage parlour at that time and were turned away,” Terblanche said.
He said police understood they may be reluctant to come forward, ”But we will respect their privacy and not reveal their identities.”
Terblanche said it was important that the public be informed about the investigation, but it was equally important not to jeopardise it.
He appealed to anyone with information, irrespective of whether they believed the information to be of no consequence, to come forward.
A team of six investigators from the serious and violent crimes unit is probing the killings. – Sapa