UPDATE: Gavin Wingrave awakens from coma after farm attack
He was admitted to Rob Ferreira Hospital after he was waylaid and bludgeoned with some form of iron bar.
MBOMBELA – Gavin Wingrave’s condition took a turn for the worse when he fell into a coma on Wednesday night.
His wife Nadine, however told Lowvelder that he is showing immense improvement.
He was admitted to Rob Ferreira Hospital after he was waylaid and bludgeoned with some form of iron bar by intruders at his home in Heidel Valley on Monday night.
Gavin Wingrave still unconscious after farm attack
His injuries included a fractured skull. Nadine was home alone before the attack. She went outside to close the gate upon his arrival at around 20:00, after he had given a ballroom dancing class in Mbombela.
As he entered the premises, she noticed that three perpetrators had already trespassed onto their property. She tried to warn Gavin, but had no choice but to run inside the house while an intruder gave chase. She locked the security gate with Gavin and the attackers still outside.
Two suspects overpowered him and hit him over the head, fracturing his skull. They took Gavin’s phone, laptop, wallet and house keys. The wallet and house keys were later discovered in a nearby plantation. She immediately contacted her neighbour Bryan Coetzee, who, while rushing to the scene, fired an unknown number of warning shots with his gun. All but one intruder made a run for it. The remaining one tried to break open the security gate to get to Nadine, but to no avail.
A source told Lowvelder that they only recently upgraded their security system after a series of break-ins.
Nadine, anxiously awaiting for help to arrive, looked through the window when the thug stared her straight in the eyes and flung a rock through the pane of glass that narrowly missed her.
None of the suspects’ faces were covered, nor did they wear gloves. Nadine got hold of a teargas canister and only when she directed some at the suspect, did he flee the scene.
Upon Coetzee’s arrival, a distress call was sent out on a Whatsapp group that serves the Heidel Valley community, after which Afriforum’s White River Neighbourhood Watch arrived along with members of the community.
The neighbourhood watch had a member qualified in first aid, Attie Marais, who assisted and treated Gavin until an ambulance arrived.
“The farmer’s condition was critical, but stable,” said Marais. He was taken to Rob Ferreira by ER24 and LifeMed. Gavin is currently on a ventilator.
The attack happened less than a month after Gavin allegedly killed a man in self-defence and spent almost a week in jail. The charges were dropped and he was released on August 16.
Gavin Wingrave shares his traumatic prison ordeal
Nadine and Gavin, who were recently married but are yet to go on their honeymoon, would to have gone on holiday on Wednesday.
Police spokesman Col Mtsholi Bhembe confirmed that a case of robbery is being investigated, but no arrests have been made. “We are looking at the possibility of a revenge attack,” said Bhembe.
