It was a bloodthirsty attack on two innocent elderly people. This is how residents describe a farm attack on Sunday, September 27 at Spitskop outside Bronkhorstspruit. “Both elderly people have been assaulted so badly that they were almost unrecognizable,” an informant told Streeknuus.
The identities of the couple were not disclosed, out of respect for the families of the victims. Late Sunday afternoon, one of the victims, a 64-year-old man, was busy in his workshop near his house when six criminals gained access to the farm.
The six intruders, one armed, sneaked up on the man – catching him by surprise. After calling for help, his wife (53) rushed to his aid and was also overwhelmed by the attackers. The couple was beaten with wooden planks and pipes in the workshop.
The man’s legs were badly injured when he was cut with an angle grinder. Streeknuus’ informant said the attackers apparently had a lot of information about the layout of the farm and what was kept inside the house. They demanded a large amount of cash from the couple while torturing them. The attackers used a vice grip to clamp the woman’s nose and turned it while asking for money.
For almost an hour, the torture continued unabated. After the villains got their hands on two handguns, jewellery, electronic goods (at least two TV sets were missing) and a small amount of cash, they finally stopped torturing the couple. The attackers loaded their loot and the couple’s cellphones into the man’s bakkie and fled in the direction of the R104. It is suspected that they drove in the direction of Bronkhorstspruit or eMahlaleni (Witbank).
The couple’s son found the severely assaulted victims. Ambulance services, police and community security groups were then called. The man was found unconscious by paramedics at the scene and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Johannesburg.
The woman was rushed to a hospital in eMahlaleni. Police were still searching for the stolen single-cabin white Hilux bakkie with registration number: YSH 728 GP. Bronkhorstspruit police spokesperson Constable Munyadziwa Ramovha confirmed no arrests have yet been made. Read the full article in Streeknuus Bronkhorstspruit.
