Couple who fled Zim attacked on farm

2010-09-06 09:18

Jana Engelbrecht, Volksblad

Kimberley - A 78-year-old man was cruelly murdered and his 72-year-old wife tied up and assaulted in their house on a farm in the Philipstown district over the weekend.

Police spokesperson Mashay Gamieldien said Jakobus Cornelius Wartington and his wife, Anna Maria, were attacked in their house on the farm Disselskuil on Saturday night, between 20:00 and midnight.

Apparently Wartington had gone out to check why their electricity had failed. The generator is in a room outside the house. He was then overpowered by the two suspects.

They viciously assaulted him before going into the house where they attacked and tied up his wife.

Gamieldien said the suspects fled in the couple's green Isuzu bakkie with the registration number BZM 421 NC. They also stole a 7.6mm Browning pistol and a .22 Remington rifle.

Crawled to telephone

A family member who prefers to remain anonymous said Mrs Wartington "crawled" to the telephone after the attack to phone her son on a nearby farm.

"She has had a hip replacement. I don't know how she managed to reach the telephone. It was pitch dark and she was tied up with shoelaces."

According to the family member, Mrs Wartington said the robbers wanted money from her.

"She didn't have any money. She's an elderly lady, why did they have to beat her like that?"

A doctor at the Central Karoo Hospital in De Aar said Mrs Wartington's condition is stable. She sustained a head injury and a fracture to her forearm.

The couple have been living on the farm for the past three years. They are South African citizens, but formerly lived in Zimbabwe. After being forced to leave Zimbabwe they returned to South Africa.

 

- Volksblad