Mom shot dead for screaming
2006-10-22 17:55
Johannesburg - A Sandton mother was shot dead by robbers at the weekend after screaming when she had been told to keep quiet, according to police spokesperson Sefako Xaba.
He said three robbers entered the house in Craigavon at around 21:30 on Saturday when Michelle van der Westhuizen, her fiance Ryan Britton and their child were upstairs along with another couple and their child.
After being ordered to keep quiet, Van der Westhuizen screamed, and was shot twice in the upper body. She died on the scene.
The suspects also shot Britton in the chest.
He was taken to Life Hospital by Netcare 911 paramedics, where he is in a stable condition in the intensive care unit.
The couple were engaged to be married later in the year.
Domestic raised the alarm
Xaba said the domestic worker and the two children managed to get out of the house and alert the caretaker of the complex.
Earlier reports that the domestic worker had been tied up could not be confirmed.
Paula Combrink, chairperson of the Witkoppen Craigavon Civic Association (WCCA), said reports that security guards had been tied up were also incorrect.
The WCCA was called in after residents of the complex were unable to get hold of police on the 10111 number.
Combrink then phoned a policeperson on his cellphone.
Nothing taken
However, she said that when the Douglasdale police arrived they did an "absolutely remarkable job" and worked through the night.
Xaba said the suspects had fled by the time police arrived.
They had not taken anything from the house, although it appeared they had planned a robbery.
According to Netcare 911 spokesperson Mark Stokoen, witnesses said the perpetrators cut the fence to gain access, then entered the house through the front door.
- SAPA