Five suspects in Ermelo cop murder case remain in custody

The five people accused of the murder of a police officer in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, have been remanded in custody.

The five were arrested after police Lieutenant-Colonel Piet Pretorius was shot and killed in Ermelo last week.

Pretorius was ambushed by gunmen while on duty and the state vehicle he was travelling-in was riddled with bullets.

The matter has been postponed to Monday next week for the profiling of the accused.

Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Mangoseni Nkosi says the motive behind the brutal killing of the officer is yet to be established.

“The team managed to get information together where they tracked the vehicle or tracked the suspects down in Nelspruit some few hours later. Five suspects were arrested. Out of the five suspects, we have four guys one of the guys is a former police officer and the fifth suspect is a lady who appeared today. Four suspects have legal representatives and the fifth suspect doesn’t have a legal representative. The case has been postponed for him to access the legal representative.”