'They let him bleed to death'
2008-05-20 10:06
Pretoria - A man from Amandasig in northern Pretoria was shot in the heart by armed robbers during a braai on Friday evening and left to bleed to death in the lapa at his house while his family were robbed and assaulted.
Daleen Birkenmayer, 38, her daughter, Danel, 13, and other family were held hostage and assaulted for 3½ hours while Victor, 65, lay dying in the lapa.
Ankia Jordaan, Daleen's sister-in-law, was hit in the arm by the same bullet that had killed Victor.
Daleen said the family had been having a braai when they were attacked by four armed robbers.
She said: "My sister-in-law suffers from epilepsy and wanted to fetch her pills in the house.
"I just saw a man with a revolver in his hand holding her by the neck.
"My husband came out of the bathroom, grabbed a glass and threw it at the man.
"The man fired a shot and hit Victor in the chest."
Kicked and hit them
Daleen said three more robbers suddenly appeared and forced all the guests, including three children, into the house and tied them up with neckties.
The robbers left Victor where he had fallen and for the next three hours they assaulted Danel; Daleen; Daleen's parents, Doreen, 56, and Pieter Jordaan, 53; Daleen's brother, Louis Jordaan, 53, and his wife, Ankia, and the couple's children Lee-Anne, eight, and Gruger, two, by hitting them with guns and kicking them.
"We're going to kill you; we're going to kill you," was all they heard.
The robbers loaded stolen items from the house as well as about R20 000 in cash into Doreen's car and fled.
'He was dead and I just held him'
After the robbers had left, Danel managed to get loose and untied the others.
Only Gruger had not been tied up.
Daleen said: "I just wanted the robbers to be gone so that I could do something for my husband.
"After they had gone, I went to my husband immediately, but he was already dead.
"I covered him with a blanket, put a pillow under his head and just held him."