Second suspect arrested for alleged murder of Jesse Hess and grandfather

A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the murders of UWC student, Jesse Hess and her grandfather. The man was taken into custody on Tuesday, 19 November 2019. 

He is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 20 November 2019, alongside Hess’s cousin, who was arrested as the main suspect, in Struisbaai last week.

Hess’s cousin appeared in court last Friday, 15 November 2019, after allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl in Hanover Park, SAPS could confirm. It was also revealed that he was on parole last year, after serving prison time for rape and drug-related offences.

SAPS spokesperson, FC Van Wyk said: “The 31-year-old suspect who was arrested in Struisbaai was charged for the murder of Jesse Hess and her grandfather Chris Lategan and is scheduled to make a court appearance in Bellville on Wednesday 20 November 2019. A 37-year-old man was also arrested on Tuesday, 19 November 2019 and will appear with the 31-year-old in the Bellville Magistrates Court.”

The murder of Jesse Hess and her grandfather 

Hess and her 85-year-old grandfather, Chris Lategan were murdered in August 2019 in their home in Parow. 

The first-year theology student was found on a bed, while Lategan was discovered tied up in the toilet.

The family moved out of the one-bedroom council unit that same day. They took only their clothes, not wanting anything else as their home had become a crime scene.

Two months after the brutal double murder, no suspects had been arrested.

First suspect apprehended in Struisbaai in November 2019

The man, said to be the cousin of Jesse Hess was found and apprehended in Struisbaai in the Overberg on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, after raping a 16-year-old girl in Hanover Park just two days earlier. 

SAPS Captain, FC Van Wyk said that based on some of the evidence found in Hanover Park, the man could be linked to the murder of Hess and Lategan. 

Van Wyk could confirm that that the mentioned person was of interest to the investigation of Hess and her grandfather’s murder. “Circumstantial evidence currently links him to the crimes,” said Van Wyk. 

“He is also positively linked to a rape and robbery of an incident which occurred on Monday 11 November 2019 in Hanover Park, where a 16 year girl was raped,” he said.