Murder mayhem in Knysna and surrounds

A spate of brutal murders in the Knysna area has turned the district into a killing field. Apart from the gruesome murder two weeks ago of 67-year-old Sedgefield resident Noreen Hampson, two more cases have since been added to the police’s list of investigations in the Knysna area in the past month, reports Knysna-Plett Herald.

Hampson was killed at her home on February 2. Police later officially confirmed reports from people at the scene that preliminary investigations indicated Hampson was attacked by a hammer-wielding man, and that she later succumbed to her injuries.

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Fifty-year-old Sean Kelly was arrested on the same night after attacking the victim around 6pm – but not before he held a whole neighbourhood to ransom with erratically violent behaviour and abusive language, according to community reports.

The police said two cases of malicious damage to property have been added to the murder case.

Solemn court proceedings

The mood was sombre at the Knysna Magistrate Court on Wednesday, February 13, in anticipation of Kelly’s formal bail application. A big man by all accounts, the suspect walked into the courtroom and before even acknowledging magistrate Zukiswa Hans, turned to coldly glare at a gallery packed with his townspeople, posing an intimidating figure.

Hans reprimanded Kelly immediately: “No, no, no, no. You don’t do that in my courtroom.”

Kelly immediately spun around and sheepishly apologised, saying he was merely looking to see if his family or anyone else was there to support him.

Residents from Hampson’s community handed in two petitions opposing bail, with signatures totalling more than 4,000 to date.

A neighbour who stays four houses away from Hampson’s, Karen Band, described the deceased as a friendly person who always had a smile on her face. “She regularly walked her dog and had many friends who will miss her.”

‘Suspect was pleasant at first’

Band said she met the suspect when he first moved into the area about four years ago and introduced himself. “He was pleasant and open at first,” she said, “but his behaviour seemed to deteriorate over time. Some of our neighbours mentioned that he had shouted at their children walking past.”

After the murder, more stories started emerging about the many altercations Kelly had allegedly had with various individuals over time, Band said.

One man, who was one of the first people to arrive at the crime scene and who wishes to remain anonymous, is a witness and has also opened a case against the accused.

According to the Sedgefield community newspaper The Edge, the scene that played itself out on that fateful day after a neighbour alerted community policing volunteers of a woman being attacked, involved an irate and violent Kelly running in and out of his home multiple times either to grab hold of a different weapon or in an attempt to get away from officials on the scene, all the while threatening and attacking at least two bystanders as well as paramedics, and smashing the windows of several vehicles parked nearby.

The matter was postponed until Thursday at the request of his legal representative.

More murder cases

In the meantime, local police have had their hands busy with two other murders in the Knysna Municipal district.

In one, the decomposed body of a woman was found in the bushes near Gray Street, Knysna, on January 29 by a member of the public, and Knysna police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies said the initial investigation suggests she was strangled.

“She was dressed in a grey jersey, long-sleeve top and white socks at the time of the discovery. The circumstances surrounding her death as well as the identity of the deceased is not yet known,” said Spies.

He appealed to anyone with information regarding her death or her identity to contact investigating officer Sergeant Vusumzi Xokozela on 044 302 6652.

In the other incident, it was 26-year-old Concordia resident Bianca De Bruin who met her death at the hands of a suspect who allegedly stabbed her “with a sharp object” on February 3 after they had an argument.

“She sustained two stab wounds and was declared dead by paramedics at the scene,” said Spies.

The suspect, 21-year-old Emile Booysen, was later arrested and he appeared in court on February 8.

Investigation in all three matters continues, said Spies.

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