Cape Town gay club owner’s killer gets life

The man who killed well-known Cape Town gay nightclub owner Bruno Bronn has finally learned his fate.

On Monday, Judge John Hlophe gave Frederick Willem John Coetzer a life sentence for the murder in the Western Cape High Court.

He was earlier found guilty of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances on Friday. Coetzer was also given an additional concurrent 15-year sentence for the robbery.

Bronn’s body was discovered by a domestic worker in his Sea Point home on 7 February 2012. The 50-year old had been strangled to death.

Coetzer, who has previous drug possession and assault convictions, was charged with the crime along with two other men; Fareez Allie and Achmat Toffa. 

Coetzer’s DNA was found under Bronn’s fingernails and his belt was used to strangle the victim. The court ruled that Coetzer acted alone, acquitted Allie and only found Toffa guilty of theft after Coetzer gave him Bronn’s cellphone to sell.

During the trial, it was revealed that Coetzer had worked as a bouncer and handyman at Bronn’s popular Bronx nightclub. Dawid Human, who was a DJ at Bronx, also told the court that it “was common knowledge” that the two men had “a working relationship and a sexual relationship.”

An institution among Cape Town’s gay community and international tourists for many years, Bronx closed down after the building was sold to property developers shortly before Bronn’s murder. It was later demolished.