Retired Journalist and Wife slain at their home in KwaZulu Natal

The bodies of a former Daily Dispatch journalist and his wife were discovered in their home in Pinetown on Friday afternoon, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

They were identified as journalists Graham Lizamore, 62, and his wife Kate, in her fifties, who had both formerly worked for the Daily Dispatch and who have recently moved to KwaZulu-Natal.

A police spokesman stated that “The couple were found partially decomposed. The woman’s head was covered in a plastic bag and the man’s ankles and wrist were tied,”

The bodies were discovered by a relative, who visited the house, found the door open and the couple dead inside..

Police confirmed there were no signs of the couple having been robbed and that the motive was unknown.

New source

African Justice

June 04 2010 at 09:35AM
A 20-year-old man was beaten to death by community members in Ngoma
News - Crime & Courts: Alleged thief beaten to death (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100604090624148C194347)

June 10 2010
Angry mob kills suspected robber in Sun City village near KwaMhlanga
News - Crime & Courts: Angry mob kills suspected robber (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100610124421952C409480)

June 22 2010
Thando Kitshini, 29, from Khayelitsha, was beaten to a pulp then thrown over a concrete slab
News - South Africa: Suspected thief beaten to death (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol127719543621D124)

June 24 2010
Body found with chop wounds, 22 arrested
News - South Africa: Body found with chop wounds, 22 arrested (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20100624124327714C848334)

June 28 2010
A man suspected of being a criminal was stoned to death in Nongoma
News - Crime & Courts: Vigilantism rears its ugly head (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100628122658879C684919)

June 29 2010
Mob Torches Suspected Thief in Nyanga
News - Crime & Courts: Mob torches suspected thief (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100629125422888C535102)

June 29 2010
Twenty-five people have been arrested after Phoenix violence
News - Crime & Courts: Arrests made after Phoenix violence (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100629222237727C524018)

June 30 2010
Mob kill man for attempted attack on family
News - Crime & Courts: Mob kill man for attempted attack on family (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100630140301770C789614)

Behind the Vuvuzelas 3

MORE ARTICLES RELATING TO CRIME IN SA

Hawks face integrity tests

2010-06-21 08:22

Members of the police's elite unit will in future be subjected to strict "integrity tests", including traps where bribes are offered.

A store owner has shot and killed a suspected robber

2010-06-19 23:43

A store owner has shot and killed a suspected robber in his shop at the Emily Hobhouse Square shopping centre in Bloemfontein.

• Victim shoots, kills robbers
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Robber threatens Cup tourists

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A lone robber has threatened to "kill" a group of Cup tourists after being caught in their rented house in Cape Town.

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Joburg 'hit' on ex-Rwandan army chief

2010-06-19 20:00

The BBC reports that an attempt has been made in Johannesburg to assassinate an ex-Rwanda army chief.

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Cape cops make R3m tik bust

2010-06-19 12:36

A drug bust on the N1 highway outside Beaufort West has resulted in the confiscation of tik with an estimated street value of R3m.

Robber wounded in shootout

2010-06-18 22:42

Johannesburg police say a robber has been wounded in the foot during a shootout outside a Bryanston home and two others were still at large.

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Elderly man attacked with axe

2010-06-18 19:40

An elderly resident from White River, Mpumalanga is in the ICU of a Nelspruit hospital after he was attacked with an axe at home.

Panga-wielding robbers nabbed

2010-06-18 14:12

Four men have been arrested for allegedly threatening a shopkeeper with a panga and robbing his store, police say.

Cop held for killing superior

2010-06-18 13:07

Two men, including a police constable, have been arrested for the murder of a former station commander in his driveway in Durban, police say.

• Cop shot dead in driveway

Mexican theft case postponed

2010-06-18 09:55

The case against a man accused of robbing a Mexican tourist has been postponed because the victim went to Polokwane to watch rugby.

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Couple arrested in house raid

2010-06-17 19:24

A man and a woman have been arrested after police found stolen car parts, guns, counterfeit money and police-issue bulletproof vests in a Soweto house.

KZN policeman in drug bust

2010-06-17 14:58

A KwaZulu-Natal policeman has been arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine near the FIFA fan park in Durban.

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Angolan kidnap accused 'an illegal'

2010-06-17 13:00

One of the two men accused of kidnapping the 5-year-old son of an Angolan mining magnate is in the country illegally, the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court has heard.

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Crackdown on circumcision schools

2010-06-16 19:05

The Eastern Cape health department has started an operation to rescue circumcision school initiates in the Port St Johns area following the deaths of 11 boys.

• Leaders meet over circumcision deaths
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Cup fraudster gets jail time

2010-06-16 08:22

A man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after being convicted of defrauding a US tourist wanting to hire a car for the World Cup.

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Cops nab 3 over rhino horns

2010-06-15 20:43

Sars says three men have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle rhino horns worth more than R2m out of the country.

• Poachers nabbed with horns
• Man caught with rhino horn
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Harsher sentence for rape couple

2010-06-15 12:25

The North Gauteng High Court has ruled that the non-custodial sentencing of a couple for rape and indecent assault should be increased to effective jail sentences.

3 arrested for E Cape murder

2010-06-15 10:56

Three men have been arrested for allegedly stabbing another man to death in Tsolo following an argument at a local tavern, say Eastern Cape police.

Convicted surgeon 'brain damaged'

2010-06-14 22:04

A Western Cape orthopaedic surgeon - convicted of raping and indecently assaulting female patients - has brain damage, the Bellville Regional Court has heard.

• Surgeon found guilty of rape

Protesting guards 'misled'

2010-06-14 20:01

Security guards who rampaged at Durban's Moses Mabhida stadium reportedly were misled by disgruntled rival security companies.

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SA couple murdered in Madagascar

2010-06-14 18:19

A South African couple living on a small island about 35km east of Madagascar has been found murdered at their home.

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Man caught raping sister-in-law

2010-06-14 15:31

A 33-year-old Soweto man has been arrested after he was caught allegedly raping his brother's wife, Johannesburg police say.

• Schoolboys rape fellow pupil, 14
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'Kidnapped' man found dead

2010-06-14 14:07

A man, wearing only his underpants, has been found dead next to a railway line after he was allegedly kidnapped in a road rage incident, KZN police say.

• Drivers wounded in road rage incident
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Toddler raped, killed, dumped

2010-06-14 13:01

A 2-year-old girl has been raped, killed and dumped in an open veld near Mthatha, Eastern Cape police say.

• Girl, 3, fights for life after rape
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Teen shot dead in CT

2010-06-14 11:35

A 15-year-old boy has been shot dead by two men who approached him in Athlone, Cape Town police say.

Man held for raping 15-year-old

2010-06-13 22:28

A 23-year-old man is to appear in the Evander Magistrate's Court for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, police say.

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Elderly man set alight

2010-06-13 09:29

A 70-year-old man is in a critical condition after he was set alight in Florida in Gauteng. He was airlifted to hospital.

Man killed in Silverton robbery

2010-06-12 21:05

One person has been killed and two others shot during a robbery on a smallholding in Silverton, Gauteng police have said.

6 held for robbing soccer fan

2010-06-12 16:30

Six people who allegedly robbed a hotel in Mpumalanga and held up a Chilean soccer fan have been arrested in White River, police say.

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5 held for hijacking

2010-06-11 14:02

Five people have been arrested following the hijacking of a DHL vehicle in Mabopane in Pretoria, Matrix Recovery Service says.

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Family up for R29m scam

2010-06-11 08:01

The case of a family involved in a R29m liquor scam has been postponed as investigators have been deployed on World Cup duties.

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Tourist robbed in cop shop

2010-06-10 21:16

Cape Town's special SWC Magistrate's Court has dealt with its first cases, including a theft from a tourist in a police station.

Angry mob beats teen to death

2010-06-10 19:36

An angry mob has killed a teenager and seriously injured his friend after they broke into a house and stole items in Sun City village, Mpumalanga police say.

• Mob beats, burns teens
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Nigerian kidnap case postponed

2010-06-10 18:17

The court case of six Nigerian nationals accused of kidnapping and torture has been postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, a report says.

SA assures visitors' safety

2010-06-10 14:25

The SA government has moved to reassure World Cup visitors that their safety and security remain top priority, a spokesperson says.

• 3 arrested for journo robbery
• No 'known' threat to SWC
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Terre'Blanche accused 'may flee'

2010-06-10 13:33

Should Eugene Terre'Blanche's murder accused Chris Mahlangu be granted bail, he will never be found again, says an investigating officer in court.

• Terre'Blanche hearing continues
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Chinese journalists robbed

2010-06-10 07:55

An armed gang has stolen money and a camera from four Chinese journalists in South Africa, Chinese state media has reported.

McBride described as 'mad man'

2010-06-09 13:12

Former Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride is a "mad man" who is capable of anything, says an ex-colleague turned State witness.

• McBride, witness cases separate
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• Witness: McBride was speeding

http://www.news24.com/Tags/Topics/farm_attacks

Farmers, govt settle case

2010-06-18 16:25

Free State farmers' three-year court case against the government over the lack of security along the Lesotho border has been settled out of court.

• ANC: Farmers to blame for attacks
• AWB to protect Afrikaner farmers

From Dina

Behind the Vuvuzelas 2

From Dina in SA

The newspapers say that crime is less during the world cup, but far away from the headlines things are somewhat different

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Robbers-shoot-at-KZN-campers-20100617

1. Shots fired at holiday makers from Jhb in a caravan park, Gwala-gwala nearSt. Lucia nature reserve.
- Willie Maartens (40) from Roodepoort with his extended family reports shots fired at 3 caravans and tents, and robbed at gunpoint. Bullets passed right through the caravans, etc

http://www.volksblad.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Skote-klap-by-vakansie-oord-20100617-2

http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Rowerkoeels-deurboor-woonwaens-in-kusoord-20100616

2. Since a lot of attention has turned to the Farm Attacks, it seems killing the aged in their homes is the way to go, as this is still going on every week!

A 72 year old man from Witrivier is in a serious condition in hospital after being attacked with a byl in his house. He is Mr. Charles Baty, a bagpipe player in die Stevenson Hamilton Pipe Band, a well known Scottish orchestra in the Lowveld. He was found in a pool of blood by a visitor. He was last seen the day before at church. His kids immigrated to the USA. Nothing was stolen.

http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Bejaarde-tuis-met-byl-aangeval-20100618

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Emotional-burial-for-slain-cop-20100615

Johannesburg - Members of the police force have to choose whether they want to be heroes or gangsters.

This was what the national head of police, General Bheki Cele, said on Monday at the military funeral of Sergeant Gert du Toit, 34, in Johannesburg.

Du Toit, a member of the K9 unit (the former dog unit) in Johannesburg, was shot dead by cash-in-transit robbers in Protea South, Soweto, last Saturday.

Cele told his family that they could be proud of him.

"You can walk proudly out of this church. He died for what he believed in."

.....................

Cele said he was worried about police members who were "becoming rotten themselves".

"We have to guard against being different people by day and by night."

He referred to the R5 assault rifles that were found on the crime scene.

"There is only one organisation that uses these weapons and that is the SA police force."

etc

Other news:

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/KZN-policeman-in-drug-bust-20100617

Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal policeman has been arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine near the FIFA fan park in Durban, police said on Thursday.

He was arrested when police found heroin, cocaine, five cellphones and R10 000 in his car when they searched it at a roadblock in South Beach on Wednesday, said Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Crackdown-on-circumcision-schools-20100616

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/GP-man-rapes-stepdaughter-20100615

Johannesburg - A 67-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his 6-year-old stepdaughter in Tembisa, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.

Behind the Vuvuzelas 1

TV crew robbed

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/TV-crew-robbed-20100613-2

Man held for raping 15-year-old

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Man-held-for-raping-15-year-old-20100613

Toddler raped, killed, dumped

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Toddler-raped-killed-dumped-20100614

Foetus dumped in taxi

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100614103837667C528356

Police open fire on protesting Durban World cup security staff

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=111784

Teenager shot dead in Athlone

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100614103640732C523466

Man gunned down at braai, two others hurt

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100614043525875C416542

Man caught raping sister-in-law

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Man-caught-raping-sister-in-law-20100614

SA couple murdered in Madagascar

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/SA-COUPLE-MURDERED-IN-MADAGASCAR-20100614

Eight arrested after foiled robbery

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100614165717466C488630

Teen shot dead in CT

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Teen-shot-dead-in-CT-20100614

Man killed in nightclub brawl

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100614043634794C649588

Taxi 'executions' on the rise in KZN

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100614044501866C361669

Alleged rapist apprehended in tavern

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100613221317266C661952

R25m drugs seized in Sandton

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100614164517720C541091

CRG accused of voodoo as goat and cow are sacrificed

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Business%20Report&fArticleId=5512620

Land Bank staffers arrested

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Land-Bank-staffers-arrested-20100613

Doctors' exodus hits West Rand hospital

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article502710.ece/Doctors-exodus-hits-West-Rand-hospital

Staff crisis at SWC hospital

http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/NationalNews/17-doctors-quit-SWC-hospital-20100614

Cele slams foreign criminals

http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/NationalNews/Cele-slams-foreign-criminals-20100614

Transnet wants to fire Siyabonga Gama: Hogan

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Business%20Report&fArticleId=5513628

74 000 vote for vuvuzela ban

http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/TournamentNews/74-000-vote-for-vuvuzela-ban-20100614

Cosatu wants suspended officials charged

http://www.timeslive.co.za/business/article503643.ece/Cosatu-wants-suspended-officials-charged

Rea Vaya workers go on Soccer City strike

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-06-14-rea-vaya-workers-go-on-soccer-city-strike

Fifa to probe transport as thousands stay away

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=111719

World Cup security protest R190 wages

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article502532.ece/World-Cup-security-protest-R190-wages

South Koreans buy condoms like they're going out of fashion after World Cup win

http://www.thedailymaverick.co.za/article/2010-06-14-south-koreans-buy-condoms-like-theyre-going-out-of-fashion-after-world-cup-win

Feel ‘it’, it’s here says ladies of the night

http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1151395

World Cup booklet blunder costs R1.5m

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article502289.ece/World-Cup-booklet-blunder-costs-R1.5m

______________

Hat Tip The ABC of the ANC

Retired SADF couple survive torture ordeal

A retired (SADF) army Colonel Thys Eagar (78)'s cheekbones was crushed and his ribs broken when he and his wife Barbara (74) were attacked, stabbed and assaulted in their house in Wierdapark, Centurion. Wis wife was badly beaten, stabbed and choked. The attackers gained entry through the roof of their house in a security complex at 3:00 AM in the morning, and they were attacked where they were sleeping in their bed. When the old man woke up, he asked them in Zulu if they wanted food or money, but they simply started beating and choking him that he lost consciousness twice.

Fortunately an alert neighbour on hearing screams phoned the police who's arrival made the attackers flee. One was subsequently arrested.

Report at Censor Bugbear

News source
_________
Dina

Scammers kidnap US woman

Police have arrested four people implicated in a so called 419 scam after they allegedly held a US woman hostage for nearly a month.

A police spokesperson said "Police believe the four lured the US citizen with a promise that she had won $1.06m (R8m),"

The gang started scamming her last year and fleeced $60 000 from her between April and July.

"After July, the communication went cold until they approached her again in April this year."

She was told to come to South Africa in person to claim her prize and bring $2 000.

Taken hostage

"She duly came and on arrival on April 15 they took her hostage from the airport and kept her in a house for well over a month.

Full report

Youth accused of raping 3 year old

Johannesburg - An 18-year-old youth was arrested for raping his 3-year-old niece in Tembisa, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.

The child's 31-year-old aunt left the toddler with the youth when she went to work on Monday, said Constable Tebogo Sesing.

When the woman returned, she found the child crying outside on the street.

The child then told her what had happened.

The aunt took the child to the clinic and reported the incident to the police.

The 18-year-old was arrested and was due to appear in the Tembisa Magistrate's Court soon.

Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Youth-rapes-niece-3-20100601

Hat Tip: Birdman

Woman suffers serious facial injury in attack on her car

Mariska Killian holds the piece of iron which was thrown through
the window of her parents' car, shattering her mother's face

In addition to around 16,000 carjackings a year, there has been an increase in a particularly dangerous and unpleasant crime in South Africa whereby heavy objects are dropped from bridges over motorways onto fast moving cars below.

The following report from News24 was supplied by Dina:

A Pretoria woman's face was ripped open and several of her facial bones and teeth were shattered when someone apparently threw a piece of steel through the windscreen of the car in which she and her husband were travelling.

If it hadn't been for the fact that her husband is an experienced paramedic, 41-year-old Susan Taljaard, from Wonderboom South, probably wouldn't have survived.

Abie Taljaard said he heard glass breaking and thought it must have been a stone that hit the windscreen. "But when my wife looked at me, there was a hole where her face was supposed to be."

Continue reading here

Anti white violence in South Africa Continues

Three days of unremitting violence

Youth Survives Panga attack

March 24 Randberg youth survives machete attack when his family home was invaded twice in seven hours.

Source

_______________

Elderly woman viciously assaulted

25 March 2010: "I am just grateful he didn’t rape me,’ said 79-year-old Afrikaner resident of Bloemfontein Mrs Hester Thomas after her attacker stabbed her above the eye, beat her purple and blue, choked her, jumped on her chest and kicked her during a so-called ‘house robbery’ in which very little of any value was actually ‘robbed’. Volksblad journalist Vicüs Bürger reports that this is the third attack on elderly Afrikaners in Bloemfontein within a week. She was admitted to Pelonomi Hospital. The attacker merely ‘robbed’ some meat, cheese and clothing…

News report
_____________

Gruesome attack on Family

23 March 2010: “It was like something from a horror movier,” says Mr. Johan van Vuuren after five of his family members were violently attacked in their parents house in Jagersfontein.

His parents, Boet (80) and Francina (77), brothers Marius (44 - pictured above) and Marthinus (35) and nephew Juan (13) was attacked on Sunday evening in their house in Harrington street, Jagersfontein, by six men armed with spades and knives.

The attackers showed no mercy and left a bloody house behind..

Even Boet and Marius were cruelly assaulted, even though both are paralysed and in wheelchairs due to a marrow virus and a car accident respectively.

Francina van Vuuren remains critical in hospital

News report and here

____________

Elderly couple attacked on farm

25 March 2010: An elderly couple was seriously injured in a farm attack near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga police said on Thursday.

"The couple was found by their gardener when he came to work early in the morning and he went straight to the farm manager who phoned local security and police," said Inspector Dawie Pretorius.

The attack against the 82-year-old woman and 81-year-old man occurred on their farm, "Ooswes", in the Sterkspruit area in Nelspruit around 2am on Tuesday morning.

A group of men smashed through a glass door and attacked them before fleeing the scene with two cellphones and their truck.

The woman sustained serious head injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital.

News report

________________

Hat Tip: Dina and Censorbugbear

17 year old murder victim mutilated

Anika Smit

A father arrived home from work on Wednesday to discover the body of his teenage daughter, naked and with her hands hacked off.

That morning, Johan Smit had said goodbye to his only child, 17-year-old Anika, before he left their home in the north of Pretoria for work.

When he got home she was dead and had presumably been raped. Her hands were cut off between the elbow and wrist and were missing.

"When I saw the dining room chairs were overturned, I knew something was wrong," said Smith, 54, from Theresapark, as he fought back his tears.

"I called her, but she didn't answer."

Body in bedroom

Moments later, Smit discovered his daughter's body in her bedroom.

Nothing was stolen.

Police spokesperson William Mahlaole said a post-mortem will confirm the cause of Anika's death and whether she was raped or indecently assaulted.

Anika, who lives with her father, was alone at the home on Wednesday. She had stayed home from school due to an ear infection.

Smit arrived home after work at about 16:00 and saw the outside gate and security gate standing open with their locks missing. Anika's scooter stood at the front door.

When he went into the house, he saw the dining room table had been moved and the chairs were overturned. When he called his daughter and she didn't answer, he went to her room.

"She was lying on the ground, naked. Both her hands were gone, they'd been cut off. They must have taken them."


Full report here

___________
From Dina

NOTE: Typically the report does not say so, but the only reason I can think of for taking body parts from the victim, and that is for use in muti medicine.

Update- more detail on the latest Pretoria killings

Yet another elderly couple have been brutally murdered in the city, bringing to six the number of pensioners killed in Pretoria over the past month.

The bodies of Theuns Venter - who celebrated his 85th birthday last week - and his wife Suzie, 83, were discovered by their grandson when he returned from his night shift as a security guard on Thursday morning.

Police are also investigating the possibility that the woman might have been raped. 'snip'

Although the couple were very security-aware, the front gate, security gate of the front door, the front door and the back door were open. It did not appear that the doors and gates had been forced open.

Seeing that his grandparents' 1984 model minibus was missing, Engelbrecht ran into the house.

He found his grandfather in the living room. "He was lying on his stomach and his hands and feet were tied with electrical cables believed to have been cut from appliances in the house. We suspect he was hit over the head with a blunt object," Olivier said.

The grandmother was lying in the passage. She was not tied up. It is believed she was strangled with a piece of cloth that was found nearby. 'snip'

Full report

Elderly Couple found Dead

An elderly Pretoria couple were found dead in their home on Thursday morning, paramedics said.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said they were called to a house in Mayville to treat a person who had collapsed.

"When we got there the poor paramedics got the shock of their lives," he said.

The man, in his 80s, was found face-down in the lounge with his arms and legs tied up, and was dead.

His wife, also in her 80s, was found dead in the passage.

Report

_____________
Dina

Crime not linked to poverty

High levels of violent crime were not linked to poverty levels in municipalities across the country, a SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) study has found.

In a statement on Monday, the SAIRR said Eastern Cape municipalities had the highest murder rate, 54 murders per 100 000 people, and a poverty rate of 62%.

Limpopo municipalities, however, recorded the lowest murder rate but also had a poverty rate of 62%.

The findings form part of a local government study which assessed 80 indicators from each of the 52 metropolitan and district municipalities.

The indicators included demographics, education, employment, housing, access to basic services, transport, social security, health and crime.

Poverty rates vary

Western Cape municipalities also recorded a high murder rate with a low poverty rate of 27.5%.

Report continues

Hat Tip: Dina
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Comment

At least half a million whites, out of a population of around 4.3 million now live in dire poverty in South Africa yet hardly feature at all in the crime figures.

The Solidarity Helping Hand organisation provides practical and financial help to Afrikaans people living in Poverty - click here to donate

A week of murders

Man killed, wife badly injured

Although the first crime occurred last week, it has, as far as I can tell, not yet been reported in the English language press. I am grateful to Dina for the summarised translation.

Mr Johan Venter (59) and his wife, Rentia (60), was attacked on their farm near Middelburg Mpumalanga, last week Friday around 01:30.

Mr Venter was killed by a shot in the head, and his wife injured by gunshots to the stomach & arm. The attackers had forced entry through the bedroom window. their son, Jaco (22), heard his parent screaming followed by gunshots. Nothing whatsoever was taken/stolen.

It is reported that the men suspected of the murder, at around 7:00 on the same day, may have kidnapped & robbed a teacher, mev. Hendrieka van der Merwe (59) who were driving to the school where she teaches. An obstruction was placed in the road to force her to stop

The suspects are however still at large

News source

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Couple found murdered in their home

Mr. and Mrs. Els

In a separate incident, this Thursday the bodies of a man and wife were found in their Swellendam home, Western Cape.

Police were called to the scene after the couple's gardener saw blood on the front door. When police gained entry into the house from the back, they discovered 63-year-old Nick Els dead on the lounge floor and his 58-year-old wife Elsie dead on the bedroom floor.

It appeared the killers used a blunt object to kill the couple.

It was unclear how the killers entered the house or if anything was taken.

News source

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Arrests in retired Cardiologist's murder

Police have made a breakthrough in their investigation into the murder of a retired cardiologist.

Dr Francois Steenkamp’s body was found in his home in a retirement village in Newlands on Wednesday – it was believed he was beaten to death.

Two men were arrested in connection with the murder.

Police are not willing to reveal any further information, saying the investigation was at a sensitive stage and more arrests may follow.

It is understood investigators are looking for the retired cardiologist’s white Toyota Tazz which was stolen by his attackers.

It is believed Steenkamp was severely assaulted at his home on Tuesday night.

Source
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Hat Tip Dina

Update - Kgomo murder: 'suspect was a sangoma'

Five suspects, including a 14-year-old boy,appeared in the Soshanguve Magistrate's Court near Pretoria (Gauteng province) on Tuesday in connection with the murder of 10-year-old Masego Kgomo. who's mutilated body was found hidden in a dense clump of bushes near her Soshanguve home on Friday night.

Pathologists on Monday conducted an autopsy on Masego to establish how and when she was killed. It is believed that tests were also conducted to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted and mutilated.

Reports said at least one of the five suspects was a sangoma, apparently involved in the use of body parts for muti.

News source

The rape capital

67 year old woman raped in her own home

A 67-year-old woman was raped and severely assaulted after two men broke into her home in Nemato, Port Alfred, Eastern Cape

According to Police the woman was asleep at her home, when two men broke in on Monday.

"The intruders allegedly raped the victim, beat her with a spade and a slasher and made off with her DVD player and television set as well as the garden tools that they assaulted her with."

She suffered injuries to her head and her upper body.

News source

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Gang of Boys held for rape

A severely injured Malmesbury,(west of Cape Town) woman is in hospital after being gang-raped, the Malmesbury woman, in her 30s, regained consciousness in Swartland Hospital on Monday after being attacked in Lingelethu on Sunday.

According to reports the woman was sleeping at home on Sunday when she heard noises outside, and phoned her husband who was working a night shift.

The husband arrived with a police patrol and saw a group of young men running out of a Wendy house on the premises. The officers arrested one of them.

"Inside we saw a naked, unconscious lady. Her clothes were (strewn) around..."

The ambulance crew were shocked by the signs of violence at the rape scene, Du Rand added.

Two hours later, police caught the five other suspects, aged 15 to 20. They all had bloodstains on their clothing.

Meanwhile, in the same hospital, a 10 year old girl is receiving trauma counselling after her mother's boyfriend allegedly raped her.

The 47-year-old Nyanga man was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of repeatedly raping his girlfriend's daughter.

News source