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- A Cape Town man was stabbed multiple times in his Athlone home, allegedly by a close friend.
- The family described the murder scene as that of a "horror movie".
- Police said a murder investigation was under way.
"I want to hate the man who stabbed my brother, but I can't find it in me to hate him just yet."
These were the words of a tearful Mariam van der Schyff after her 29-year-old brother, Bassier, commonly known as Bash, was stabbed multiple times in his bedroom on Monday morning.
The alleged perpetrator stayed with the family.At around 05:00 on Monday, the Van der Schyff family was woken up by loud screams, bangs, and people frantically running up and down the stairs at Seal Street in Gleemoor, Cape Town.
According to Mariam, 33, she accompanied her brother and his friends on a drive into the city centre on Sunday night, shortly after 21:00, and on their way back home an argument broke out in the car.
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Mariam said when she and her mother went to inspect the noise, they found Bassier covered in blood on the floor of his upstairs bedroom.
She said that, during the confusion and panic, all they heard was that his close friend had stabbed him.
The devastated sister said the family was in utter shock and disbelief.Grief-stricken, she said the man who had stabbed her brother was like family.
"He lived in our home for more than six months, so I feel sick to my stomach that he killed my brother so gruesomely."
The family said that when they received Bassier's body for his Janaazah, they were told he had suffered a total of 17 stab wounds to his body.
Mariam said:
Holding back the tears, she recalled dropping her brother and his three friends at home because they wanted to "chill" in his room.
The alleged perpetrator, she said, decided to lay on the bed while Bassier stepped outside for a few minutes.
"When my brother came home, the friend was asleep and Bash woke him up. He told him to rather go lay downstairs because they assumed he was tired and the rest of them wanted to listen to music in the room," said Mariam.
The friend was apparently not happy to be woken up from his sleep, but then made his way downstairs.
Minutes later, he returned, and was armed with a knife from the kitchen.
According to the sister, he then apologised for lying on her brother's bed, reached out to shake his hand as a peace offering, but then "sliced him across his body".
She said the attack happened in full view of the two other friends, who were seemingly frozen, unable to stop the stabbing.
Mariam said that, before fleeing the scene, the man pulled the knife out of her brother's body. When he saw a family member watching from the bedroom door, he quickly put on his shoes and fled the scene, knife in hand.
Mariam described the scene as right out of a "horror movie", with blood stains on the walls and door handles.
She continued:
"My brother passed away before the ambulance arrived," she said.
She said all three friends fled the scene and the family hasn't seen or heard from them again.
According to Mariam, the police spent about five hours at the house, combing the scene and taking pictures, before a cleaning company arrived to clean the bloodied house.The family said the alleged perpetrator handed himself over to Athlone police on Tuesday. Western Cape police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, confirmed the police were investigating a murder case.
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"Circumstances surrounding this fatal stabbing incident are under investigation. Motive is currently unknown," Van Wyk said.
The family said the case was heard at the Athlone Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
They were then shocked to learn that it was "provisionally withdrawn" because the prosecutor said there wasn't enough evidence.
Asked for comment, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could not confirm.
The Van der Schyff family is demanding urgent action and justice.
The police said they were awaiting the court docket.
Bassier was buried according to Muslim rites on Tuesday. "As a family, we are heartbroken. The pain we feel is indescribable. To know that the man we trusted, who did this to my brother, is walking the streets as a free man doesn't sit well with us. We will fight for justice to be done," Mariam said.
