Murder suspect falls to his death after stabbing Bluff cop

A BRIGHTON Beach detective responding to information about the whereabouts of a suspect wanted for murder, was stabbed on both his arms while trying to arrest the suspect, who shortly thereafter lost his footing and fell to his death from the 16th floor of a flat in Amanzimoti while trying to escape from police.

After receiving information that a suspect, wanted for a murder and attempted murder in Hillcrest in May 2020, was hiding out in a flat in Beach Road in Amanzimtoti, Captain Brad Varley immediately made his way to the flat with two local rapid response officers on Saturday, July 9, at about 18:00.

The suspect, Pieter Dijzel, was inside a flat on the 17th floor when police gained entry and informed him that he was under arrest for murder.
After resisting arrest and getting violent, a struggle ensued between the responding officers and Dijzel, who is believed to be just under two metres in height. Fighting off all three responding officers, Dijzel escaped into the bedroom, where he locked himself in.

“Both the men with me could not even cuff him, that’s how strong he was. I fought him all the way to the bedroom. We called radio control for assistance. While waiting, I tried to talk to him through the bedroom door to give himself up. There was no reply. During the fight, he somehow got a knife and lashed out at me. I can’t remember seeing this as I was in fighting mode. I was on an adrenaline high and didn’t realise there was blood everywhere from my arm. After no response from Dijzel, I broke into the room, but he was already gone. We discovered that he climbed out the bedroom window and because he was so tall, he was somehow able to reach his feet to the ledge on the 16th floor,” said Varley.

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“Dijzel moved along the ledge to a flat on the 16th floor, where he kicked at the window and asked the residents to open it and let him in. This must have been when he lost his footing and fell through the roof of a building to the ground level,” said Varley.
Dawn Gounden, from Renegades Search and Rescue, said the organisation thanks the community of Amanzimtoti for being vigilant.

“We appreciate the efforts of those who had taken the responsibility to alert and advise those working on this case with factual information that could assist SAPS in locating Dijzel. The approach by the residents in clamping down on crime while working in unison with SAPS to create a safe and secure, crime-free community is commended. The excellent and tactful work by two highly motivated, professional and learned members of SAPS, Warrant Officer Reed and Captain Brad Varley from Brighton Beach, who work continuously to keep the community safe by eradicating crime and criminals, is appreciated and does not go unnoticed,” added Gounden.

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