Christian Botha, Private Investigator

Case Files  | Kidnapped Woman Found

Credits

Article:  Chandre Prince
Courtesy of Daily Dispatch
Image:  Ntokozo Yingwana

PI hired because police dragged heels in investigation - husband

The husband of a kidnapped Amalinda woman has heaped praise on an East London private investigator whom he claims brought in the final suspect - after just three days on the job.

Catherine Jones was snatched outside the East London Magistrate's Court on April 12 and driven to the West Bank Grand Prix track.  When her husband, Brad Jones, a car dealer, paid a ransom of R50 000, the kidnappers made off with the money, his car, wallet and cellphone.  A month later police arrested Fabian Nelson from Parkside, but a second suspect believed to be the mastermind behind the kidnapping remained at large.

Jones said he hired Christian Botha two weeks ago when he became frustrated with the pace at which the police investigating team were proceeding. 
"I was disappointed with the manner in which police handled the case. We had to take it upon ourselves to pay Christian to help us," Jones said.

Within three days Parkside resident and taxi driver Eugene "Haan" Sharp was arrested - seven months after the alleged offence had taken place.  Jones' wife positively identified a photograph of her alleged abductor.  Jones, who will have to cough up several thousand rands for the private investigator, who charges R300 to R350 an hour, was yesterday adamant that Sharp's arrest would not have happened had it not been for Botha.

"It's of my view that had Christian not got involved, there would not have been an arrest. He definitely helped speed up the case and we're very grateful for that," he said, adding that the couple finally had a sense of relief after a "very traumatic" experience.  Other high-profile cases solved by Botha include the East London penguin killings and the recovery of the skeletal remains of Alec Steenkamp, who had been missing for eight years.

The head of detectives in the East London area, Superintendent Gopz Govender, however vehemently disputed Jones' view that Botha was instrumental in solving the case.

He said information Botha had handed to them last Monday prior to Sharp's arrest was in fact "old news".  He said Sharp's arrest had already been imminent, but police had to delay it because of technical reasons.  He said he was more than satisfied with the manner in which investigating officer Detective Inspector Roderick Bossr had been handling the case.

Govender gave Bossr full credit, adding that he was "an excellent and thorough investigator in whom I have all the confidence".  "The investigation was done. Botha never added any value to our case. Everything on our side was ready for action," he said Govender.

The two accused appeared in the East London Regional Court yesterday on charges of kidnapping, robbery and blackmail.  Sharp, who is being represented by Willie Opperman, will have to spend the next few days in jail as his formal bail application will only be heard on November 11.

The Sentencing

Credits
Article:  Andrew Stone
Courtesy of Daily Dispatch

BRAD Jones will never forget the day he was told his wife had been kidnapped and that, if he wanted to see her alive again, he would have to pay the kidnappers R50 000.
He thought that kind of thing only happened in Hollywood movies.

“It was unbelievable,” he said from his office in Amalinda last Friday, some four years after the ordeal.  “I took the phone call demanding R50 000 for her safe return seriously, but it was like being in a film.”  The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but turn they do, and Eugene “Haan” Sharp and his accomplice Fabian Nelson were sentenced to 15 and 10 years respectively on March 31 for kidnapping Jones’ wife Cathryn in April 2005.  The sentencing closes a tumultuous chapter in the lives of the Beacon Bay couple, who eventually turned to private investigator Christian Botha to track down one of the perpetrators.

“The whole thing was dragged out for so long,” said Jones. “The investigation took for ever and then the number of times we had to go to court and face those people and their friends was not easy. It’s nice to see the justice system work, though, because I was starting to lose hope.”

The couple’s ordeal started when Cathryn received a call from a man claiming to be a Mr Smith (Sharp) from the traffic department. He asked her to meet him at the court house to sort out a traffic fine. From there, he asked her to accompany him to his office at Group 8 on the West Bank and en route they picked up Nelson.

Then they took her to Leaches Bay where they tied her up. Jones said: “I had been at gym and when I finished I saw I had a whole bunch of missed calls from Cathryn’s phone. I was worried why she had phoned so many times and when I phoned back a man answered and said if I wanted to see Cathryn alive again I should do as he said.”

Jones scraped the ransom money together and met with the kidnappers at the East London race track . “They took the money, my car, wallet and cellphone and drove off, telling me Cathryn was tied up in a car parked in the bushes nearby.”

Jones found the car, but not his wife. “I looked all over,” he said. Desperate, he flagged down a passing vehicle and, with the help of the driver, contacted the police. Unbeknown to him, Cathryn, who was not harmed, had escaped from the kidnappers’ vehicle while Jones was with them.

The couple were reunited when she returned to the vehicle in which she had been tied up. “It was the worst day of my life by a million times,” said Jones.

A short while later police arrested Nelson after his identikit picture appeared in the Daily Dispatch.  Several months later, Jones was concerned that the investigation had stalled and was going nowhere, so he hired Botha.  Through an informer, Botha learnt that Sharp had thrown a party soon after the kidnapping and was overheard to say: “Geniet die hijack geld.” (Enjoy the hijack money.) He obtained a photograph of Sharp, matched it to the identikit picture and went to the police. After a photo identikit parade in which Cathryn pointed out Sharp, he was arrested.
Jones added: “I’m glad it’s all over now and I’m thankful to everyone for their help.”

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