Vicious murder puzzles cops

2008-12-22 22:48

Amanda Roestoff

Johannesburg - This weekend the wife of a game farm owner was viciously murdered in her home in the Blaauwbank area, near Randfontein on the West Rand.

The body of Sandy Gordon, 56, was found on her kitchen floor at about 16:00 on Friday afternoon.

Her hands had been tied with electrical cables and a cable had presumably been used to strangle her.

Her husband, Frank, 58, an African art expert and collector, was in Johannesburg on business at the time of the attack.

Husband 'too schocked'

Upon his arrival on the farm, he was met by his neighbour, Johan Swart, and hordes of policemen who were already investigating the scene of the murder.

The police said a post-mortem had been performed on Monday to determine the cause of Sandy's death.

"At present we can't speculate about the cause, and the investigation continues.

"It could take up to six weeks or longer for the post-mortem results to come," said police spokesperson Captain Appel Ernst.

The police are still trying to establish how the attackers could have taken Sandy by surprise inside the house, because the entire game farm is fenced with a "good" electrical fence.

Frank was still too deeply shocked to make a statement to the police.

He is said to have been hospitalised for shock at the weekend.

Sandy's murder elicited widespread reaction from the community.

"South Africa is a paradise for criminals!" said Edwin Rowles, chairperson of a neighbourhood watch for the Rikasrus, Vleikop, Dannydale and Blaauwbank smallholdings.

The owners of smallholdings are planning a demonstration in the new year because their appeals to the local police have been falling on deaf ears.

Crime pays

"We've had four meetings with the police. Lovely promises were made, but nothing has come of it," Rowles told Beeld.

"Who says crime doesn't pay? It's the highest paying industry in the country.

"If a criminal is caught, he is protected by the government, the state supplies a free lawyer or advocate that is paid with the taxpayer's money."

However, Ernst said the public should come and talk to the police and provide proof of their grievances.

"We are always prepared to help where we can. There isn't a single area in Randfontein that's being neglected."

- Anyone with more information about the attack on Sandy Gordon can call Inspector Emily Dipholo at 011- 278- 8100.

- Beeld