By Rasmus Thomsen, Natasha Prince & Patrick Whyte
The murder of a 78-year-old woman and the rape of her 25-year-old pregnant neighbour have shaken residents of the quiet holiday town of Gordon's Bay.
Residents in Milnerton Road in Winslow were woken on Monday by loud voices and the sound of a vehicle crashing as a gang of nine men who had allegedly bludgeoned Johanna "Joy" Retief van Aarde to death and then held a neighbouring family hostage made their escape.
One of the suspects also raped the 25-year-old girlfriend of the owner of a neighbouring house twice while his accomplices ransacked the premises.
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| 'They went upstairs to where my son and his friend were sleeping' |
The robbers fled with goods worth thousands of rands.
Four suspects, all apparently from Khayelitsha, were arrested, reportedly after crashing a bakkie stolen from the neighbouring house.
Police later arrested three more suspects and investigators are investigating a link between the two incidents.
Most of the suspects are believed to be teenagers.
Police have confirmed that 78-year-old Retief van Aarde died after being hit on the head.
| 'They took my girlfriend... she was raped' |
Inspector Bernadine Steyn said the woman's body had been found in a bedroom at 8am on Monday. It is believed Retief Van Aarde was still holding an alarm whistle.
"The safety bars on the kitchen window were lying on the ground outside and it is not known at this stage whether anything was taken from the house," said Steyn.
After attacking Retief Van Aarde, the men are believed to have gone to a neighbouring house where they held the owner's 18-year-old son and a friend hostage.
"The robbers came into my house at around 2am through a downstairs window," said the owner of the house.
"They then went upstairs to where my son and his friend were sleeping."
The two young men were held hostage for almost two hours until the boy's father woke up and realised what was happening.
While holding the teenagers hostage, it is alleged the robbers tried on the son's clothes and beat the two young men while demanding to know where any valuables were hidden.
All of the intruders were apparently armed with butcher's knives.
"My son was tied around his hands and neck," said the owner of the house.
"He kept telling them (the robbers) not to go into my bedroom, saying that all hell would break loose if they did. He was just trying to protect me."
When he heard noises at about 4am, the father walked out of his bedroom and was immediately attacked by a knife-wielding man.
"After the first guy came at me, the rest of the robbers stormed out of my son's room and pushed me back into the bedroom," he said.
"They then took my girlfriend into another room where she was raped while I was tied and gagged in the bedroom."
The girlfriend was taken to hospital where she was reportedly doing well.
"She is getting a scan to check if the unborn child is alright," said her boyfriend.
"She is talking about what happened and I think that's a good sign she is getting it out."
The robbers allegedly took R7 000 and jewellery from a safe.
After the robbers had left the house, the owner and the other occupants fled to a relative's house in the area.
Police arrived at the house after the alarm was raised by neighbours who had heard shouting.
The robbers escaped in the owner's bakkie, but apparently crashed it into a wall opposite the house before driving away.
The home owner said four suspects had been arrested not far from the crime scene.
Anyone with information can call investigating officer Inspector Christene Stewart on 076 112 2392 or 021 856 2677.
rasmust@incape.co.za
natashap@incape.co.za,
patrickw@incape.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on May 23, 2006
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