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Gerard Jansen Van Vuuren fled South Africa days before his trial in May 2013 after he allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in December 2011.
Gerard Jansen Van Vuuren is handcuffed by police at Johannesburg International Airport after being extradited from Brazil to stand trial for allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in Johannesburg in 2011. Image: SAPS.
CAPE TOWN – A man who fled South Africa to avoid prosecution for the murder of his ex-girlfriend nearly a decade ago has been successfully extradited to the country.
Gerard Jansen Van Vuuren arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday afternoon.
The 39-year-old man was captured in Brazil about four months ago and held in custody in a Rio de Janeiro prison.
Jansen Van Vuuren was due to stand trial in May 2013 after he allegedly stabbed his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend to death outside their Johannesburg home in December 2011.
But four days before the start of his murder trial, the defendant fled the country using false travel documentation.
Subsequently, Interpol issued an arrest warrant and a process to locate him was expedited.
He was arrested by the Brazilian authorities in August 2013 on a false documentation charge and released in 2015 after serving a sentence for this crime.
Police said Interpol had been working with Brazilian authorities for several years to locate Jansen Van Vuuren and eventually arrested him at an identified address in Brazil in June this year.
Alleged fugitive for murder extradited from Brazil to South Africa Gerard Jansen Van Vuuren (39) has been successfully extradited …
Posted by the South African Police Service on Friday 9th October 2020
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