‘My sister is dead to me’, says woman whose sister is accused of killing her mom and grandpa

Storm clouds loom over the windswept town. In the distance lightning flashes, followed by a roar of thunder rolling over the plains.

Here, on the porch of a house in the Free State village of Oranjeville, the wind has covered everything in a thin layer of red dust. It’s a miserable day – and for Sanet Henderson (37), the threatening storm is a reflection of the turmoil raging inside her. 

The mutilated bodies of her mother, Dottie van Staden (58), and grandfather, Johannes van Vuuren (80), were found in this very house on 23 September. Her “gentle mommy” was bludgeoned to death with a spade and her grandfather’s skull beaten to a pulp with a steel bucket. He was also stabbed multiple times.