NEWS / Death certificate of South Africa’s “steroid king” murder suspect presented to court

The death certificate of alleged criminal boss Mark Lifman, who had been the prime suspect in the murder trial of South Africa’s steroid kingpin Brian Wainstein, has been presented in the high court in Cape Town.

The certificate indicates that Lifman died of “unnatural causes” in George, the second largest city in the Western Cape Province (South Africa) after Cape Town, Times Live reports. It appears that Lifman was assassinated, according to The Citizen.

The certificate was presented by the co-accused, suspected gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, who told Times Live that he was unable to attend Lifman’s funeral as his family had requested privacy. The two men had known each other for 25 years.

Brian Wainstain became known as South Africa’s “steroid king” after he became wanted by Interpol for smuggling bodybuilding steroids from Dublin, Ireland, to locations worldwide. He was also accused of possessing 12 uncut diamonds and of threatening the owners of a Cape Town sports supplements store if they do not sell his brand of steroids, The Sunday Times reports.

In 2017, Wainstain was shot dead at his home in Constantia, a suburb of Cape Town.

Mark Lifman was among a lineup of individuals accused of organizing the murder of Wainstain, with Lifman being accused of being the sponsor of Wainstain’s murder. According to prosecutors, the two alleged criminals, who had an ongoing business partnership, had a falling out over profits from their illegal business.