A 21-year-old man charged with murdering a well-known French chef appeared briefly in the Ramsgate Magistrate’s Court on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast on Friday.
Theleka Quntu is alleged to have murdered 69-year-old restaurateur Yvonne Cosson earlier this week after he was dismissed by her over a dispute about wages.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter said the case was postponed to January 24 for a bail application.
Quntu was arrested in Umtata on Wednesday.
Cosson’s partially burnt body was found lying next to a wall of her house, covered with plastic bags and soil.
Cosson, who emigrated from the Normandy area of France more than 20 years ago, owned and operated the restaurant La Petite Normandie.
The restaurant was regularly nominated as one of the top eating establishments in KwaZulu-Natal and in 2005 her restaurant won the Eat Out Johnnie Walker Top Country Kitchens award.
The Witness newspaper reported on Wednesday that Cosson’s son had also recently died. — Sapa