South Africa: Relative identified as person of interest in murder of Jesse Hess and her grandfather

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A relative has been identified as a person of interest in the murder of Jesse Hess and her grandfather Chris, the student’s family has confirmed.

Western Cape police on Wednesday would only confirm that a man had been linked by circumstantial evidence to the double murder, which took place in the family’s Parow flat in Cape Town on August 30.

The suspect has also been linked to a rape and robbery which took place on Monday in Hanover Park, where a 16-year-old girl was raped, police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said.

The man was wanted for this incident, he said, and was currently on the run.

Hess and her grandfather were thought to have been murdered during a robbery, where only a TV set, two cellphones and Jesse’s backpack were stolen from the house.

The family moved out of the one-bedroom unit that same day, taking only their clothes.

Hess, a 18-year-old first-year University of the Western Cape theology student who dreamt of becoming a preacher, was found dead on a bed, while Chris, 85, was discovered tied up in the toil