Four men, including a former bouncer appeared briefly in court for the murder of Bronx owner Bruno Bronn.
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Four men, including a former bouncer who is believed to have harassed murdered Bronx owner Bruno Bronn, appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
John Frederick Coetzee, 36, a former bouncer at Bronx nightclub, and Fareez Allie, 29, Achmat Toffa, 35, and Kurt Erispe, 32, appeared before magistrate Jasthree Steyn after their arrests at the weekend.
Police made a breakthrough in the case this past weekend after releasing an identikit of Coetzee, requesting information from the public.
Coetzee was spotted in the Bo-Kaap and arrested on Saturday morning.
According to the charge sheet, Allie, from Salt River, was arrested on Thursday. Police found Bronn’s missing BMW in Brooklyn at the weekend.
Bronn, 50 was found dead by his domestic worker with his hands tied and marks around his neck in his Ocean View Drive Home in Green Point last Tuesday.
He was the owner of the popular gay clubs Bronx and Navigaytion on the “pink strip” in Somerset Road.
Friends and colleagues of Bronn told the Cape Times last week that he was scared of, and traumatised by, a man who had recently been harassing him.
The four suspects made a brief appearance where prosecutor Ebrahim Adams asked that the case be remanded until Monday for bail information.
Coetzee is being represented by a Legal Aid lawyer, while the other three accused have appointed private attorneys.
Coetzee’s lawyer, Jody Sampson, told the court his client had three previous convictions – two for possession of drugs and one for assault.
The four men stared straight ahead at the magistrate and kept their heads bowed when leaving the dock to return to the holding cells.
They will be held in custody at Sea Point police station until their next court appearance, on February 20. - Cape Times
zara.nicholson@inl.co.za