Good Samaritan stabbed to death
2012-02-01 10:23
Pretoria - A good Samaritan has been murdered in Centurion, allegedly by a Zimbabwean man whose family he was helping.
Smartryk Treurnich, 37, was stabbed to death on Monday.
Treurnich was a pianist who performed professionally for seven years before becoming a stock broker. He and his wife, Isabell, also ran a public aid organisation called Collective Inheritance, which assisted people in need.
She said this included helping a family of Zimbabwean refugees find accommodation in Wierdapark, Centurion.
Domestic violence
Last week, the father of the family threatened to kill his wife and she ran away. He was convinced that the Treurnichs knew where she was.
Although they denied this, he was not convinced and on Monday morning Treurnich was apparently stabbed to death when he went to the Wierdapark house.
His wife said she got a call from the Zimbabwean man during the morning.
He said to her: “I have your husband. Give me my wife then I will give you your husband.”
When she again denied knowing where his wife was, he put down the phone. It would appear, however, that her husband was already dead at this time.
On her Facebook page on Tuesday, several friends recounted what a wonderful person her husband was.
One friend wrote: “If it can be said that one person succeeded in dreaming his dream, living it and dying for it, then surely there has only been one such a person and that was Smartie. He lived to serve others and also died for it.”
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
Police spokespeople Constable Nare Setati and Captain Agnes Huma could not confirm Treurnich’s murder.
They were also unable to say whether the suspect was still on the run, reported Gerhard Pretorius.
