A 71-year-old woman is believed to have been murdered in Montagu by the same teenage suspect accused of robbing her and her husband's smallholding about two months ago.
Elna Burger was one of two elderly Western Cape citizens found murdered in their homes within hours of each other in brutal attacks which have left their families grief-stricken.
Burger's daughter, Antoinette Botma, said on Monday that her mother had returned home from church and had been due to prepare a salad to take to neighbours for Sunday lunch.
When she did not arrive, her neighbours became concerned and subsequently found her in her house dead with her neck broken. After prompt police action, two suspects, the teenager - who cannot be named - and an 18-year-old were both arrested on Monday for the Montagu murder. Burger's car and cellphone had been recovered.
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The 17-year-old was due to appear in a Montagu court on Tuesday this morning.
Botma said her parents had lived on the farm, Tertia, about 30km outside Montagu, for their entire married lives since 1960 and had raised their two children on the farm.
Botma said her family was particularly aggrieved by the fact that the same 17-year-old had been caught red-handed robbing their home in early September.
Botma alleged that police had released the youth and that he had failed to appear in court.
However, police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn countered this allegation on Tuesday morning, saying it had been Botma's father who had chosen to withdraw the charges.
Burger had since died of a sudden heart attack six weeks ago, while her sickly mother had been in hospital.
Botma said her mother and father had not been overly security-conscious and the family had been concerned about Elna Burger living alone on the smallholding since her husband's death.
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