Retired Brit Karl Lauks, 73, was brutally killed on his driveway when he was strangled with his own belt after coming home from the pub, in South Africa – police said a 29-year-old has been arrested
A retired British engineer who moved to South Africa was horrifically strangled to death using his own belt in a tragic ambush.
Karl Lauks, 73, had returned home after a trip to his local pub but a waiting killer attacked him in his own driveway, in the town of Tulbagh, 70 miles north of Cape Town. The Brit – who went to South Africa over 20 years ago for work and fell in love with the place so never returned to live in the UK – was ambushed just after he parked his Smart car at home, on Sunday evening.
He was beaten before he could step away from the wheel of his car and the attacker took Karl’s leather belt off him. The killer is believed to have used the Brit’s scarf to silence him by shoving it into his mouth during the brutal attack.
This cold-blooded criminal reportedly then took Karl’s belt and wrapped it around his neck, suffocating him to death. The attacker then took the retired engineer’s phone, the belt, his wallet and house keys before dashing away from the driveway and leaving the 73-year-old dead in the car.
A spokesperson for Western Cape Police revealed a 29-year-old has been arrest on suspicion of murder in the shocking case and that they appeared at a local magistrates court.
This had also shockingly been the fourth time in six months that the Brit’s phone had been stolen. Karl, from Bradford, was only found after a neighbour noticed the gate to his house and car door were unusually left open, on Monday.
Described as the “life and soul” of his adoptive town, his cousin Tessa Muller said his tragic death was “truly horrible”. Tessa, a chef at the Tulbagh Hotel, was called and asked to check on the Brit, on Monday.
She told the local outlet Netwerk24: “When I got there and saw the security gate and his car door open I knew that was not like him and feared the worst as I walked up and looked inside.
“I knew he was dead right then and there when I saw the scarf in his mouth and his eyes wide open and I knew I must not touch anything and I called the police. Karl was loved and probably one of the best know person in Tulbagh and would always be out and about having breakfast with us then his lunch at Herholdt’s Pub.
“There was not a single day he ever stayed in and he was the life and soul of everywhere he went but as he got older the locals watched over him the best they could. For this very gentle man to meet his end like this is just truly horrible.”
A close friend and fellow drinker at the local pub said: “Karl lit his place up and a number of other bars in Tulbagh and now his regular seat is sitting there empty.”
The friend added that Karl has been badly beaten up in another robbery last year, leading him to get a pit bull for protection. He added: “He got a pit bull to protect himself at night but kept it indoors to stop him barking and I guess the robber knew that and attacked Karl before he could get in the front door. Everyone here looked out for him and watched him home if they could to get him in safely but that could not happen 24/7 and on Sunday his killer I guess was just waiting.”
Karl’s friend revealed the Brit’s wife had died following a battle with cancer 15 years ago and he had lived alone ever since.