Mom survives brutal panga attack

.

.

Published Aug 1, 2014

Share

Durban - A Durban mother of two has survived a brutal home invasion during which her forehead was slashed with a panga and her throat slit with a knife.

The vicious attack took place at her home in Kestrel Crescent in Yellowwood Park on Wednesday morning.

The 47-year-old woman, who was alone at the time, managed to call her husband at work. He rushed home to a scene of horror.

The family did not want to be named for fear of further attacks.

The 58-year-old husband, who arrived first on the scene, said his wife told him she was busy hanging up clothes on the washing line when two men jumped over the back wall of the premises.

One man grabbed and assaulted her before dragging her into a storeroom in the nearby outbuilding where he pulled out a panga and sliced her across the forehead. As she screamed for help, he slit her throat with a knife.

Her attackers left her for dead and then proceeded to ransack the house, stealing a laptop, iPhone, Blackberry cellphone and cash.

“It was about 8am when my phone rang with my home phone number showing. All I heard was my wife say, ‘please come help me’,” the husband said.

“I rounded up my assistant and we sped to my house in my car. As I entered into my driveway I saw the gates were open.”

He drove down the driveway and was horrified to see his wife lying on the ground with a towel, drenched in blood, wrapped around her neck.

“She was full of blood and her forehead was cut open. The cuts were very deep. I was shocked,” he said. “She was responsive and told me that she managed to call the police and explained what had happened. I screamed for my neighbour for help.

“Without wasting any time, we carried her and placed her in my car. My neighbour kept praying and comforting her as he tried to keep her conscious. Blood was just gushing out. We rushed her to Wentworth Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery.”

The couple’s 24-year-old daughter, a journalist with e.tv in Johannesburg, said she received a call from her father that her mother had been rushed to hospital, but he had not told her what had transpired.

It was only when the police called her and inadvertently asked her about the stolen items, that she realised the extent of the incident.

“My dad called and told me mum has been admitted to hospital and that I needed to book a flight and come home. He said she was doing fine and that he was with her in the hospital. Later in the afternoon, the police phoned me enquiring about the stolen items. When the officer said the police were going to ‘get them for what they did to your mum’, I began to panic. I knew something major had happened,” she said.

“The level of anger and frustration is just immense. Why did they have to cut her across the forehead and slit her throat? They could have just locked her up in the room and taken whatever they wanted.”

Her father told the Daily News that his wife had been stabilised after having her wounds stitched. However, doctors were concerned about the depth of the head wound.

“She had 25 stitches on her forehead and 15 on her throat. She was sent for further tests to King Edward VIII Hospital before being transferred to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital,” he said.

“We are hoping that she hasn’t suffered a fractured skull, which would mean surgery.”

When the family visited the mother in hospital on Thursday she was disorientated, but in good spirits, saying she felt much better.

Her husband who has owned the house for 22 years said that although his two children were shaken, he would not consider selling. He said they were traumatised, but fortunate that their mother was still alive.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed that Montclair SAPS were investigating a case of attempted murder and house robbery.

He confirmed the victim was assaulted and stabbed with a knife and panga before being robbed.

Daily News

Related Topics: