By Johan Schronen, Theresa Smith and Terri-Liza Fortein
A second University of Cape Town professor has been murdered.
Professor Lisbé Smit (nee Smuts), 47, was found in the pool at her Wellington home on Monday.
This comes two days after the death of associate mathematics professor Brian Hahn, who was attacked at the university on January 28, allegedly by a former Ph D student.
A teenage suspect is in custody after Monday's attack.
Smuts was surprised by an intruder after she returned home from running errands and taking her children to school at about 7.30am.
There were signs of a brutal struggle in the house and it appeared that Smuts had been chased outside the house.
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She was found floating in the pool.
Police on the scene said she was barely alive when discovered and died soon afterwards.
An initial examination at the scene showed several stab wounds in her head and neck.
Neighbour Alexa Kirsten, who came to her aid during the attack, was stabbed several times with a screwdriver.
Kirsten is in a serious condition at Paarl Medi-Clinic.
Police were alerted about the attack as it happened, after neighbours reported hearing her screams.
Police rushed to the scene and spotted a 16-year-old youth fleeing.
An all-points alert mobilised patrols in the vicinity as police chased the suspect, who darted through an old-age home before he was arrested by a policeman near Boland Rugby Stadium.
It is suspected that the youth had been on robbery spree, as people in nearby streets had earlier also reported attacks and gave a similar description of their attacker.
The 16-year-old youth, from Noordkamp near Mbekweni, was found with items believed to have been taken from Smuts's house.
UCT spokesperson Andrea Weiss confirmed Smuts was a senior lecturer and head of Afrikaans & Netherlandic Studies in the School of Languages and Literature.
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