A South African soccer fan was beaten to death so that his family could watch a religious television program.
Anyone with siblings will know that battles over remote controls are serious business – they can even turn violent. Thankfully the violence usually falls short of the type that was inflicted on 61-year-old David Makoeya, whose family beat him to death.
Police spokesman Mothemane Malefo explained exactly what happened in the Makoeya household on Thursday:
He said, ‘No, I want to watch soccer’. That is when the argument came about. In that argument, they started assaulting him.
When his wife refused to give him the remote, David Mokoeya got up to change the channel by hand, which infuriated his wife Francina, 68, son Collin, 36, and daughter Lebogang, 23.
The cause of death was not certain, but Malefo said that the police had a theory:
It appears they banged his head against the wall. They phoned the police only after he was badly injured, but by the time the police arrived the man was already dead.
David’s family were arrested on Sunday night, but his daughter has since been released on 1500 rand bail.
One of the man’s nieces commented:
He was always a happy man, never violent. On Saturday, we saw him the last time at a funeral.
The match that David Makoeya was killed for wanting to watch saw referee Marco Rodriguez assist an already domineering Germany hand Australia a 4-0 taste of bitter Soccer medicine. [WA Today]
