On May 29, Debbie Venter, 52, disappeared without a trace.
Weeks later, her charred body was found in a field and her car, in which she apparently disappeared, was found with its new owner.
Venter’s half-sister Danieta, and her husband Gert van Rhyn, (both 39) appeared in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court last week on charges of her murder.
The body of Venter, who was a phase 4 cancer sufferer, was only recently identified after it was found in a field last month in Lindopark, Pretoria.
Firefighters discovered the body after putting out a wildfire.
“At first they thought the body was that of a man because it was so badly burned and decomposed,” an informant told Streeknuus.
“The body was found in an open drain with a plastic bag over the head and hands tied behind its back.”
A post-mortem determined that the body was that of a sick woman in her fifties.
Warrant Officer Gerda Tosen of the Bronkhorstspruit Police Detective Branch says Venter was finally identified by her fingerprints.
Remains of her pyjamas, which she was wearing at the time of her disappearance, were also found on her burnt body.
Venter, originally from the East Rand, has fought a long battle with cancer.
The informant says she temporarily stayed in a caravan park and was waiting to be transferred to a care centre.
“Debbie was waiting for a policy to pay out R80 000, which she could then use to pay for her medical care,” the informant said.
Venter was apparently convinced to stay with her half-sister in Bronkhorstspruit rather than at a care centre.
She apparently stayed with the Van Rhyn couple for almost two months before they reported her missing.
Venter weighed only 42 kilograms and was so ill at the time of her disappearance that she had to wear a catheter and adult diaper.
The Bronkhorstspruit detective branch made a breakthrough in the case when they located Venter’s missing vehicle.
The Van Rhyn couple told police that Venter had disappeared in her white Ford Escort.
The car was found in Mabopane and the “new owner” said it had been sold to him.
On Saturday July 4, Danieta and Gert van Rhyn were arrested at a house in Queenswood, Pretoria.
The couple appeared again in court on Tuesday.
Danieta abandoned bail application and the court postponed her case to next month.
Gert is expected to be back in court next Friday to formally apply for bail.
A good friend of Venter, Madelain du Plessis, says she is still deeply shocked by the news of Venter’s death.
“I have known her for almost 14 years,” said Du Plessis. “It is difficult to come to terms with what happened.”
She says Venter did not have children but raised her brother’s two children after his death about 13 years ago.
She leaves behind her father (77) and stepmother.
“The family has announced that there will be no funeral service for Debbie. It breaks my heart, but I have to respect the family’s wishes,” said Du Plessis.
