Lynette Louw It was with shock that we heard news reports about the murder of Graham (62) and Kate (50) Lizamore at their house in a Pinetown complex. Barbertonians will remember them as the couple that started the Barberton Times in 2001.According to a report in The Independent on July 24, the gruesome discovery was made by a family member, Patricia Hayes. She tried to get hold of the couple and when she couldn’t, contacted Kate’s colleagues at the newspaper to find out if they knew where she was. According to Kate’s colleagues she had not been to work since the Wednesday. Hayes managed to get the police to check on them at their house, only to discover that the house had been locked. On inspection the couple was found dead in the toilet.According to Vincent Mdunge, KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman, Graham had his hands tied behind his back and Kate’s head was covered with what looked like a refuse bag. “There bodies were already in a state of decomposition”.After selling Barberton Times to the Caxton group the couple moved to East London and had only been living in Durban for one month after Kate got a job with Independent Newspapers Special Projects.Graham had worked in editorial sections of the Cape Argus and Star titles. He also relaunched the old Kei Mercury community newspaper in King William’s Town and launched The Natural Farmer, The Coastal Profile and The Mpumalanga Tourist besides Barberton Times.
Mdunge said they had not yet established the cause of death because of the decomposition and were still investigating the case. 

Graham and Kate Lizamore