CHRISTIAN WYNGAARD heard two loud shots outside his house. He ran out of his house and saw his daughter Eleanor’s crumpled body at their gate.
He lifted his head and saw two men get into her car and speed off.
His son Edgar raced outside after him. Filled with anguish, they picked up Eleanor and carried her lifeless, bleeding body inside.
Hearing the commotion, a neighbour came over and administered CPR, but it was too late.
Eleanor Wyngaard, 45, was dead. She had been shot at close range in the chest and leg.
“When I got to her, I helped him (my father) pick her up. I knew she was already gone. When I looked at her I knew.
“When I brought her in, I was hoping when the paramedics came there would be some sign or a faint pulse,” her grieving brother said.
Around 9.40pm on Wednesday, Eleanor had left her Toyota Etios idling while opening the gate to the family’s Tennessee Street home in Westridge, Mitchells Plain. She was returning home after visiting her boyfriend, who lived a few minutes away.
That was when the hijackers sprung. No one heard shouts or loud voices; there was no warning when the sound of a gun being fired went off.
Yesterday, family and friends gathered at the house as news of her killing spread.
Family members said her parents had been taken to hospital for shock.
Her brother said her death was slowly starting to sink in for his parents. “I was lying awake last night, I could hear they didn’t sleep,” Edgar said.
“As people are coming now, my parents are beginning to realise what happened. Because it was so sudden, I think they are still in shock. It is very traumatic.”
Eleanor worked as a personal assistant at the Education Department.
“She was very outgoing, very jovial, she loved laughing and having fun,” Edgar said.
He said the family were now waiting for an autopsy to be conducted.
Standing near the murder scene, her cousin, Christopher Wyngaard, said: “I don’t know why they would kill her. She is a woman, push her aside, take the car.
“People these days are cruel. It’s just about an easy buck they can make.
“We grew up together, she was a happy person. You couldn’t help but love her.”
Mitchells Plain Community Police Forum (CPF) spokesperson Abie Isaacs said carjackings were not common in the area.
“As the CPF we condemn this in the strongest terms. One life lost is one too many. And we extend our condolences to the family. It is a tragedy.”
He appealed for community members to come forward and provide authorities with any information leading to the arrest of her murderers.
Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said a murder and carjacking case has been opened for investigation. No arrests had been made.
Anyone with information can contact investigating officer Bradley Schuurmaan on 021 370 1619, Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or sms Crimeline 32211.