A Ukrainian tourist was stabbed to death for his rugsak while out for a walk in Hout Bay on Saturday.
Ivan Ivanov, 44, was attacked about 10 metres from the trail exit at East Fort on Chapman’s Peak Drive around 11.30am.
During a brief struggle with his three attackers, he was stabbed a number of times in the chest and bled to death on the trail, according to sources on the scene.
The attackers fled in the direction of Hout Bay with
Ivanov’s backpack.
The one carrying the backpack was spotted by a civilian who alerted Hout Bay Community Police Forum (CPF), reports the Weekend Argus.
CPF members managed to catch the 25-year-old suspect, who allegedly confessed to the robbery and stabbing and told cops where they would find Ivanov’s body.
Police established that the murder weapon was not on the scene and a senior detective, assisted by Table Mountain rangers, launched a roadside search which proved fruitless.
Hout Bay patrolmen remove the body of Ukrainian tourist Ivan Ivanov, who was stabbed near Chapman’s Peak Drive. Supplied
Ivanov had been staying at a Hout Bay guest house for a few days before moving on to another foreign destination which is not yet known.
His hosts had warned him not to hike the trail alone, even though CPF sources on scene said they had always regarded it as a safe, incident-free route.
Around 2pm, a Community Cohesion trauma counsellor at the crime scene telephoned Ivanov’s wife, who was in Geneva with family.
Counsellor Bronwyn Moore said: “I apologised that her husband was murdered while visiting our country. I feel I owe it to the victim’s family.
“Crime in South Africa is being normalised, and it never, ever should be.”
A manhunt had been launched for the two remaining suspects.