There’s always an extra sting in the tail when you read about visitors to our shores falling victim to crime, and in the case of 36-year-old James Starkey it’s a crime that might take some solving.

The British-Australian investment banker, who resided in London, was found tortured and strangled in his rented Sandton apartment, having come to Jozi for a three-month management consultant project.

Police are currently searching for the killer, but it is believed that James was killed after inviting a mystery guest up to his apartment at the Raphael Penthouse Suites complex near Nelson Mandela Square.

More below from TimesLive:

Police are still to determine the cause of his death but a source at the complex said the scene that greeted them was “hectic”.

A paramedic called to assist police told one of Starkey’s colleagues the banker had burn marks on his body and appeared to have been strangled.

No motive has been made public. Police said they found no evidence of a sexual assault and refused to say if anything had been stolen.

With the suites boasting “tight, highly effective, and extremely efficient security”, an armed guard present 24 hours a day and a biometric access system, they have been quick to wash their hands of any blunder:

A spokesman for the Legacy hotel group, which manages the apartment complex on behalf of private owners, suggested Starkey had been hosting “an invited guest” when he was killed.

“We are not in the habit of presuming to tell occupants who they should or should not have visit them,” said Legacy general manager, David Stroud.

“This incident was not a breach of security in the building and took place between the tenant and his guest in a private apartment.”

That will do little to ease the pain and suffering of his family back in Australia, so here’s hoping they catch the guilty party and they can find some sort of closure.

[source:timeslive]