Two Americans planned and killed Heckmaier – Judge Liebenberg

Staff Reporter

TWO American nationals, Marcus Thomas and Kevan Townsend, who have been on trial for murder for over a decade, were found guilty on Wednesday.

According to the court’s findings, the two Americans killed André Peter Heckmaier, who was 25 years old at the time, with direct intent on January 7, 2011, in the district of Windhoek.

High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg remarked that, although there isn’t direct evidence linking Thomas and Townsend to the commissioning of the murder, circumstantial evidence clearly demonstrates that the convicted murderers jointly planned their actions and acted with a common purpose when setting the scene to murder the deceased.

The judge added that there is evidence that on the same day of their arrival from America, Thomas inquired about the deceased, portraying himself and Townsend as friends of the deceased, and successfully obtained the cell phone number of the deceased.

‘Call registers of MTC established telephonic contact between accused 1 and the deceased before and after the lunch booking was made. The last activity between accused 1 and the deceased was at 11h56 when the deceased received a text message, after which all activity on the cell phone of accused 1 ended. That was also the last activity on the deceased’s phone, except for two forwarded calls which registered after the murder,’ said Judge Liebenberg.

It was established that police searches conducted at the guest house where the American men were staying at the time failed to locate the weapon used in the commission of the murder. Only an unused barrel and a brand-new silencer were found in their possession. However, the court also determined that among the items found in their room was a 100 Swiss Franc note, which corresponds to evidence regarding a similar banknote the deceased had in his wallet before leaving for the lunch appointment that he had received from his father.

Furthermore, the judge pointed out that on the same day as the murder, the two Americans met with a certain Simon in the afternoon to pay the outstanding amount from the gun sale. By then, Simon had no knowledge of the murder, and when they were asked what had happened to the firearm, Townsend allegedly said it had been used and that he had tossed it away.
‘This information ties in with the fact that the firearm could not be found during the police investigation.’ The court concluded.
The convicted murderer will be brought back to court on 18 September 2023 for the presentencing hearing.