Cape Town - The family of two teenage brothers, who were killed in Lavender Hill, have been left baffled by the double murder.
Both brothers were shot in the head. Shocking details of the lives of Angelo, 14, and Antonio Frankford, 17, have since emerged, showing the boys were both addicted to drugs and lived in a flea-infested shack with their mother, who is allegedly also on drugs.
The shooting in St Bernard Street shortly after 6am on Saturday set tongues wagging amid claims that the teenagers were dropped off by a motorist of an unknown vehicle, and subsequently shot in the head.
Police spokesperson, Novela Potelwa, said Anti-Gang Unit detectives were investigating the double murder.
“Reports from the scene indicate that the pair, aged 14 and 17, were walking in St Bernard Street at about 6.30am when they came under fire from yet-to-be identified suspect/s.
“Both victims suffered gunshots to their heads. Provincial Anti-Gang Unit members with support from Steenberg police and other police contingents are following leads in search of the perpetrators of the shooting.
“Meanwhile, additional police officials have been deployed to the area to assist in the search for the suspects and ensure the area is safe,” Potelwa said.
A paternal aunt, who asked not be named for safety reasons, said the family was called to the scene where Antonio was initially identified by his shoes. “When the police showed us the second person, we said it was Angelo. We are not sure what happened. We heard all the stories but we can confirm that both of them were heavy into drugs. They did not live with us but would come here for food.
“Their father, Edward Temm, 37, was shot and killed six years ago also due to drugs and that affected them.
“They were living with their mother in a shack. She is also bad in the drugs. We had gone to social workers many times to get them to live with us but we kept getting sent from place to place. This started three years ago when we found out they had both left school.”
The Cape Argus visited their home, which has since been boarded up by residents. Inside the cold shack, newborn puppies could be seen huddling in a corner. The bed where the teens used to sleep was undisturbed.
Wrappings of mandrax tablets could be seen under the bed along with dried-up wax from candles the boys used to see at night. A resident, 68, who asked not to be named, said the mother had gone awol since the murders.
“We don’t know where she is. The boys would go to their grandfather’s house once a month to get their child grant money that they used for drugs.
“Every day they skarrelled and were left on their own. We all tried to help. We used to hear them argue at night but they were inseparable. Angelo often said he wanted to stop using drugs.”
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus