A South African wanted for murder has been arrested in Brazil after being on the run for seven years.
Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren was last week arrested in Rio de Janeiro. He has been wanted in South Africa for the 2011 murder of his girlfriend, Andrea Venter.
In December 2011, Jansen van Vuuren allegedly stabbed Venter to death at her residential complex in Johannesburg. He had tried to commit suicide at the scene but failed.
Four days before he was due to go on trial for her murder in 2013, he fled the country using a fake passport.
National police commissioner General Kehla Sithole said: ‘A lesson should also be drawn from this case and send out a stern warning to all who commit crimes against women and children, that the long arm of the law is bound to catch you. Our focus remains on extraditing him back into the country to stand trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend with the intention of bringing closure to the family and friends of the deceased.’
Jansen van Vuuren is currently being held in Brazil, awaiting extradition back to South Africa.