who travelled to South Africa to marry the man she loved has been found dead
under suspicious circumstances in a Johannesburg guest house.
Jette Jacobs, 67 (pictured left), was found in February, two days after she met
up with a man calling himself Jesse Orowo Omokoh, 28. (pictured right)
online dating website.
to Africa to meet the Nigerian before, in a long distance relationship spanning
three years and seeing the widow part with $200,000.
to be married. She wanted to settle in Nigeria. Her children had begged her to
stay in WA. Her body was discovered in her rented villa by South African police
on February 9.
her alive, vanished after speaking to police.
One of Ms Jacobs’ six children, who did not want
to be identified, told 6PR radio in Perth on Monday her mother had been to
South Africa four times, initially to meet another man.
“She wasn’t naive when it came to other
countries, we lived in Malaysia for many years,” she said.
When the woman’s brother received a phone call
from a South African guest house, the siblings who had warned their mother
against what they believed was a scam relationship, were in disbelief.
“I thought it was a hoax and I wouldn’t
believe that my mother had actually passed so I rang the consulate,” the
woman said.
“A couple of hours later they called me
back and gave me their apologies.”
A joint operation between WA Police and Consumer
Protection, codenamed Project Sunbird, had sent Ms Jacobs a letter warning that
she may be the victim of fraud, but it was too late.
By the time the letter arrived in Ms Jacobs’
mailbox she had already left for her ill-fated trip.
When her children met with detectives in South
Africa, they discovered her money, jewellery, laptop and credit cards were all
missing.
And then there was an empty pill bottle found
near her.
“Anybody who knew my mother would know that
there is no way that she would do that,” her daughter told 6PR.
“This has gone on for four years and after
four years there is a very strong element of trust that has been built.”
One of Ms Jacobs’ sons warned others not to head
overseas to meet people they’ve met online. “It could be a one-way
ticket,” he said.
Major fraud squad detective Dom Blackshaw said
WA Police were now involved in the investigation and treating the death as
“suspicious”.
“These relationship frauds are being
perpetrated by ruthless overseas criminals who are members of organised crime
syndicates,” he said.
“To travel to Africa to visit someone you
have met on the internet is extremely dangerous and could, as in the case of Ms
Jacobs, cost your life.
