The father of a gay man who was stabbed, set alight and left to die says his family want justice for his son’s murder.
Casper Daniels, 59, is a priest from Brooklyn whose son Neil, 36, was found in a field near their home on Monday night after he had been missing since Saturday.
Sitting in the Christian Mission Church of South Africa, which he runs from a wendy house on his property, Daniels said his son had gone to visit friends in Maitland and they became worried when he did not return home.
He said that on Monday night, Elize Saayman, who heads the local neighbourhood watch, came to tell him that his son had been found.
Daniels said that at first the police would not let him near the scene, but as his son’s body was being taken away on a stretcher, a wind lifted the plastic sheet covering him and he was able to see him. He had been burnt from the chest down to his legs and his body had stab wounds.
“As I saw my son’s face I couldn’t move. They could have killed him with the knife, but I do not understand why they had to burn his body as well.”
Daniels said there was speculation that the attack might have been homophobic. However, “only the family knew (he was gay)”.
Saayman, who has been running the Kings Road Weltevreden Block Watch for the past three months, said they managed to find the body during a search on Monday night.
“We saw a fire, and after walking through the reeds, I saw two legs. He was already dead when we got there, and later the police and firemen arrived at the scene.”
She said the bushes around the vlei were favoured by homeless people and by youngsters wanting to hide stolen goods and do drugs.
When she went to show the Cape Argus the scene, relatives of Daniels were gathered at the spot to nail down a cross and say a prayer.
Daniels said the funeral was going to be in two weeks’ time and that he wanted to be at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where one of the suspects was due to appear for his son’s murder.
“I want to be there and look him in the eye. Maybe it’s someone I have seen before, maybe not. My son didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Daniels said.
Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed that an 18-year-old suspect was due to appear at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court in connection with the murder.
Cape Argus