Murder shocks Bushveld town
2008-02-11 08:06
Hilda Fourie and Marietie Louw-Carstens
Mokopane - The 65-year-old wife of a missionary in the Bushveld town of Mokopane (previously Potgietersrus) was murdered in her house on Saturday.
Reinette Meyer, 65, and her husband pastor Faan Meyer were scheduled to leave this week to do missionary work in Malawi.
Superintendent Mohale Ramatseba said Meyer was overpowered in her home at about 15:00 on Saturday. She was at home alone.
The Meyer home is near a bush which divides the town from Sekgagapeng.
Pressed panic button
"The attackers slashed her throat. Before she died she managed to press the panic button," Ramatseba said.
They were not sure of the number of people involved in her death. Apparently nothing had been stolen.
Pastor Meyer heads up the Kompas congregation in town. It is an independent congregation.
In spite of his wife being murdered Meyer delivered his sermon to the congregation on Sunday night.
A witness said at the scene that Pastor Meyer was in Burgersfort doing missionary work at the time of the killing.
Guards from Strikeforce security services struggled to get access to the house afterwards.
According to a security guard at the premises who did not want his name published, the Meyer's home looked like a prison.
They called Meyer's daughter Jana. She unlocked the door and found her mother seated on a chair between the bathroom and the main bedroom.
She was already dead.
According to the eyewitness Meyer had been stabbed all over her body, numerous times. There was a deep gash where she had been stabbed in the neck. The main neck artery had been severed.
The witness said there was a lot of blood on the curtains, carpet and other places that she appeared to have touched.
Other witnesses said that the Meyers' gardener had been arrested after blood was found on the soles of his shoes.
Meyer was well-loved
DNA-testing would be done to see if it matched Meyer's blood.
The police could not yet confirm if the man had been arrested.
A post mortem will be done early next week.
An eyewitness said crime was a problem in Mokopane, but the attacks had never before been as brutal as this.
Someone close to the family who also did not want to be named, said the people of Mokpane all loved Meyer.
"Everyone in Potties has been shaken up by this.
"It was shock to all of us. She never harmed anyone."