Murder in Parktown North

The man killed in Parktown North last night was Julian Lap, an architect. His common-law wife Marilyn was seriously injured.

Neighbour Vaughan Hansen said he heard his neighbour's son screaming "sometime after 6pm". Hansen ran to the boundary wall and cleared it in a leap when he saw 16 year old Julian jnr bleeding in his driveway.

Julian had a bullet hole in his chest and was bleeding profusely.

Hansen did not have time to consider whether the attackers were still in the house. He ran into the house and up the stairs. On the bed he found Julian Lap lying in a pool of blood. "I did not even have to take his pulse," Hansen said, saying he knew that his neighbour was dead. Lying next to him on the bed, groaning was Marilyn, who had a bullet wound to her head. "I could see she was seriously injured, and I did not want to move her in case of causing more injury," said Hansen.

Hansen went back home to get his car to take Julian jnr to hospital, and asked his wife to call the emergency services. He took the boy to the Rosebank Clinic and he was later transferred to Milpark.

Netcare arrived and took Marilyn to the Milpark Hospital where she was sedated. The Parkview police took about 45 minutes to arrive, but once they were there "they were great,' said Hansen.

When www.myparks.co.za arrived on the scene, the police were busy with fingerprinting. Hansen emerged from his neighbour's house with a budgie in a cage. "We always look after the bird when they (the Laps) go away," he said.

"Just two hours before (the attack) I was chatting to Julian over the wall while he washed his car," said Hansen.

Hunta are developing a controversial three storey, 30 apartment building next door to Lap's property. Neighbours have been expressing their concern for months about the impact this would have on the neighbourhood and the safety aspect of it.

Vaughan Hansen and his family are due to receive trauma counselling from the Parkview SAPS.