Pretoria - An 81-year-old woman from the east of Pretoria has died after being tortured with an iron in her home.
Jemima Lemmer and her husband, Richard, 84, were attacked in their home by four young suspects at about 1.30am on Friday.
“The man was attacked with a hammer and the woman was burnt with an iron,” police spokeswoman Captain Marissa van der Merwe said.
The couple were tied up and after being hit in the face with a hammer, Richard managed to get help from his son Jan, who lives 300m from them on the same property.
Police said the attackers were looking for cash in the house.
After attacking the elderly pair, the assailants made off with two cellphones and a briefcase.
The couple had been living on the property in Shere since 1967. It was not the first break-in.
When Jan arrived on the scene, he called emergency services but his mother was already dead. Van der Merwe said a case of murder and assault has been opened with the Boschkop SAPS but no suspects have yet been arrested. Richard is in a critical condition in Wilgers Hospital.
Pretoria News