Murdered couple’s family speaks out

DESPITE the gruesome murders of their loved ones, Brian and Tilly Pope, a Pinetown family is holding firmly onto their faith to get through the horrific ordeal.

Brian (62) and Tilly (47), a Malvern couple, had gone to a Free State farm to spend time with Brian’s son, Warren, and his family, during what should have been a festive Easter weekend. In the early hours of Sunday, Warren woke to the sound of the gunshots that killed his father and Tilly.

“Warren barricaded his wife Marlene and their two children, aged 2 and 5, into the bedroom and went towards his father’s room to investigate the noise. He was confronted by a man in the passageway, who is alleged to be the caretaker of the Tweevley Guest Farm, who was holding a gun. Warren grabbed the gun and disarmed the man. A scuffle broke out and the man grabbed a small coffee table and hit Warren in the face,” said Ryno Du Preez, Brian’s son-in-law and the family spokesman.

Meanwhile, the struggle between Warren and the man moved outside the house. The man grabbed a garden fork and plunged it in to Warren’s chest and left him for dead, while he attempted to enter the barricaded room. Entering through the bedroom door proved futile so the man ran around the house, smashed through the bedroom window and accosted Marlene.

Du Preez said his wife received a frantic phone call from Marlene at 12.05am, telling her that Brian had been shot. Warren could be heard screaming in the background. He took the phone from his wife in an attempt to find out where they were when he heard a man, believed to be the farm’s caretaker, screaming at her.

The man hit Marlene on the left side of her head with a crowbar and broke her left forearm with the same object. The man attempted to force her into the car, but Marlene refused to leave the farmhouse without the children. Once all four of them were in the vehicle he forced her to drive to what is allegedly his home. He then climbed out of the vehicle and, taking a chance, Marlene sped off back to the farmhouse where she was greeted by police.

According to Du Preez, once the phone call ended between him and Marlene he immediately contacted the police. “The neighbours of Tweevley Guest Farm heard the gunshots and had already called the police. The neighbour’s wife drove Marlene and the two children to the Harrismith Hospital, and at that stage she didn’t even know whether Warren was dead or alive. Warren was found unconscious and was taken to the Bethlehem Hospital. We recently visited the scene and it was horrific. It was like a scene from a horror movie and there was blood everywhere,” said Du Preez.

He noted that Warren is “doing fine” and is currently resting and that Marlene was believed to also be doing fine. “The family is doing well at the moment as the initial shock has begun to wear off, and are now entering the grieving stage. We would just like to thank Anton, an ex police reservist for helping us get the facts and for putting our minds at ease when there were rumours and different stories going around. We would also like to note the incredible love, help an professionalism we received at the Bethlehem Hospital, the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at and the SAPS. As a family, we say head held high and faith strong,” concluded Du Preez.

The caretaker will appear in court on Thursday.

The family will host a memorial service but a day and time is yet to be confirmed. Updates to follow.