Still no answers for Frikkie’s family
The search ended in tragedy that Friday morning (June 8, 2018). A security guard discovered Frikkie’s body inside a fenced-off area on a game reserve, but Yolandi says this brought more questions than answers.
It is now just over a year since the death of brother, son and father, Frikkie van Staden.
Despite this passage of time, and inquiries by both SAPS and a private investigator, his family is no closer to knowing what happened on that fateful day.
His sister, Yolandi Vorster agreed to meet with the Newcastle Advertiser.
She had spoken to police officials the day before, who confirmed to her the case had been handed over from Ingogo SAPS to Newcastle Detectives.
However, Yolandi doubts the family will ever get resolution and justice.
“It’s sad; the police won’t even keep us updated and my father keeps having to phone them. The people involved with Frikkie’s death get to sit with their families while we miss him every day. My mother has suffered so much, and knowing he was murdered is the worst part.”
Yolandi can clearly recall the night before her brother went missing.
Members of the family, who reside on a shared property, sat down for supper of home made soup and shortly afterwards, Frikkie left to pay his gym fees.
It would be the last time they would see him alive.
“He missed work on the Monday but we had no idea he was missing. His phone was off and then his vehicle was found the next afternoon.”
By Tuesday evening, Frikkie’s father had opened a missing persons docket and by Thursday, took 90 volunteers with him and scoured the farmland near where the vehicle was found.
The search ended in tragedy that Friday morning (June 8, 2018). A security guard discovered Frikkie’s body inside a fenced-off area on a game reserve, but Yolandi says this brought more questions than answers.
“His body was ice cold, like he’d been in a cold room. He was heavily scratched by thorn bushes but there was no blood. He still had soup in his stomach, which meant he had been dead for days, but there was no decomposition.”
Despite the numerous inconsistencies and oddities surrounding Frikkie’s death, Yolandi says not even his cause of death has been confirmed.
She believes something suspicious occurred that Monday night.
“The case is bizarre: his car [a Ford Fiesta] couldn’t have made it up the mountain trail and the insurers said GPS tracking showed a second person in his car. He ran half-naked through thorn bushes – something scared him that night.”
Frikkie’s mother is still distraught by the death of her blue-eyed boy.
His two teenage children, who reside in the Pretoria area, still phone every few days to hear if there’s any news about the case, and if any arrest have been made.
The family as a whole, simply wants closure.
“Frikkie struggled with drugs and was in and out of rehab. Getting a divorce broke him and at first, we thought he’d harmed himself. But we still don’t know why someone washed his body, who was in the vehicle and why was he running? Something is wrong, but we have lost faith in the police to give us answers.”
The original investigating officer from Ingogo SAPS was contacted directly.
However, he refused to speak to the media, denying any previous contact with the Newcastle Advertiser and demanding the channels of communication be followed.
Newcastle SAPS was also given right of reply. At the time of going to print, no official response was given by police officials from either SAPS jurisdiction on Frikkie’s death.
ALSO READ: ‘Who killed our son?’ – Frikkie’s family offer R50k reward for his murder
Original story: UPDATE: Search for Frikkie van Staden ends in tragedy
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