Brothers convicted for Schaum murder

THE Jones brothers are guilty. Judge Sylvester Mainga has convicted Ian and Chris Jones on charges of murder, kidnapping, and housebreaking with the intention to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The two brothers have been proven guilty on charges that they had robbed a Windhoek businessman, Gero Schaum (59), at his home in Van Coller Street, Klein Windhoek, on the evening of February 14 2002, that they then kidnapped him by forcing him into the boot of his own car and driving off with him, and that they thereafter killed him in a dry riverbed in the Brakwater area, the Judge ruled when he handed down his verdict in the High Court yesterday. The Joneses’ co-accused, Magnum Smith (24), who is a cousin of theirs, and Johannes Pelser (40), were found guilty on a charge of obstructing the course of justice.They had helped Ian Jones get rid of potential evidence that could have linked him to Schaum’s killing, the Judge found.Ian and Chris Jones, aged 26 and 29 respectively, and Smith and Pelser are set to return to the High Court tomorrow for the Judge to hear testimony and lawyers’ addresses on the sentences that have to be imposed on the four.Statements in which each of the two brothers confessed his involvement in a plan to rob Schaum were part of the evidence that was placed before the court during the trial.Each of the brothers also related that after they had held Schaum at gunpoint in his house, he was forced into the boot of his Audi vehicle, and was then driven to the Brakwater area where Ian Jones, who was armed with a pistol, walked with him into the veld.His body was found there four days later.He had been shot in the head.Chris Jones’s defence counsel, Jorge Neves, argued before Judge Mainga two weeks ago that his client did not associate himself with his brother’s actions, and as a result he should not be convicted of murder.Judge Mainga did not accept the argument, the verdict shows.In his judgement, he remarked that, with Chris Jones having chosen not to testify in his own defence during the trial, there was no evidence before the court to show that he had distanced himself from his brother’s deeds on the evening of the robbery, kidnapping and killing.During the trial, Neves told the court that Chris Jones was claiming that Schaum’s wife, Katja Schaum, had had a relationship with him and that she had asked him to kill her husband in a way that would make it look like he had committed suicide.Judge Mainga dismissed this claim as nothing but a lie yesterday.He found that the two brothers had been partners in a conspiracy to rob Schaum, with the kidnapping and murder following on this.In the robbery, they stole a range of items that included some N$880 000 in cash that Schaum kept in a safe in his house, the Judge found.He convicted Smith and Pelser of obstructing the course of justice because they had helped Ian Jones get rid of a pistol, a gun holster and a briefcase that might have been connected to the case.The court heard during the trial that Jones handed these items to Smith at Rosh Pinah when he passed through the town on his way to South Africa shortly after Schaum had been killed.Smith, suspecting that the items might be connected to some unknown crime, in turn handed them to Pelser, who threw the gun into the Orange River and dumped the briefcase and holster at a rubbish dump at Rosh Pinah.Pelser could foresee that the items might have been connected to a crime, Judge Mainga ruled.Pelser and Smith remain free on bail of N$5 000 each.Except for five days during which they were on the run from the Police after an escape from the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court holding cells in June last year, the Joneses have remained in custody since their arrest shortly after the crimes.The Joneses’ co-accused, Magnum Smith (24), who is a cousin of theirs, and Johannes Pelser (40), were found guilty on a charge of obstructing the course of justice.They had helped Ian Jones get rid of potential evidence that could have linked him to Schaum’s killing, the Judge found.Ian and Chris Jones, aged 26 and 29 respectively, and Smith and Pelser are set to return to the High Court tomorrow for the Judge to hear testimony and lawyers’ addresses on the sentences that have to be imposed on the four.Statements in which each of the two brothers confessed his involvement in a plan to rob Schaum were part of the evidence that was placed before the court during the trial.Each of the brothers also related that after they had held Schaum at gunpoint in his house, he was forced into the boot of his Audi vehicle, and was then driven to the Brakwater area where Ian Jones, who was armed with a pistol, walked with him into the veld.His body was found there four days later.He had been shot in the head.Chris Jones’s defence counsel, Jorge Neves, argued before Judge Mainga two weeks ago that his client did not associate himself with his brother’s actions, and as a result he should not be convicted of murder.Judge Mainga did not accept the argument, the verdict shows.In his judgement, he remarked that, with Chris Jones having chosen not to testify in his own defence during the trial, there was no evidence before the court to show that he had distanced himself from his brother’s deeds on the evening of the robbery, kidnapping and killing.During the trial, Neves told the court that Chris Jones was claiming that Schaum’s wife, Katja Schaum, had had a relationship with him and that she had asked him to kill her husband in a way that would make it look like he had committed suicide.Judge Mainga dismissed this claim as nothing but a lie yesterday.He found that the two brothers had been partners in a conspiracy to rob Schaum, with the kidnapping and murder following on this.In the robbery, they stole a range of items that included some N$880 000 in cash that Schaum kept in a safe in his house, the Judge found.He convicted Smith and Pelser of obstructing the course of justice because they had helped Ian Jones get rid of a pistol, a gun holster and a briefcase that might have been connected to the case.The court heard during the trial that Jones handed these items to Smith at Rosh Pinah when he passed through the town on his way to South Africa shortly after Schaum had been killed.Smith, suspecting that the items might be connected to some unknown crime, in turn handed them to Pelser, who threw the gun into the Orange River and dumped the briefcase and holster at a rubbish dump at Rosh Pinah.Pelser could foresee that the items might have been connected to a crime, Judge Mainga ruled.Pelser and Smith remain free on bail of N$5 000 each.Except for five days during which they were on the run from the Police after an escape from the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court holding cells in June last year, the Joneses have remained in custody since their arrest shortly after the crimes.