Cape Town - Police are on the hunt for a Mitchells Plain man who allegedly gouged out his wife’s eyes on Sunday morning.
The mother-of-two was reportedly attacked by her husband who allegedly raped her and gouged out her eyes.
The woman is now fighting for her life in hospital.
In the early hours of Sunday morning the couple’s relatives were greeted by the gruesome scene with the barely conscious woman lying in a pool of blood with her eyes out of their sockets.
It is believed the battack happened while the couple’s children - aged two and five - and their four-year-old cousin slept in their Hyde Park home.
After the attack the man called his cousin and told her to summon an ambulance while he fled the scene.
“He called me around 1am and said they had a fight,” the cousin told the Daily Voice.
“He didn’t say what exactly happened but when we arrived at the home it was quiet and dark.
“We couldn’t get inside so we called for them and went to the neighbours but no one answered.
“I went back home and while I was there he [husband] called me again. I told him we were at the house but we couldn’t get inside.
“He said we must jump over the wall. He also told me to call an ambulance... then I knew something happened.”
The family immediately climbed over a wall and gained entry to the house.
“I don’t even want to think about what I saw when I went inside,” said the cousin.
“She was laying on the floor, unconscious. Her [right] eye was hanging out and her left eye was also out but her face was swollen. She couldn’t talk.
“The children were all sleeping so they didn’t see or hear anything.”
The cousin said the couple, who have a history of domestic violence, visited her Beacon Valley home the night before.
“They left my place around 10pm and they both seemed fine,” she said. “If they weren’t then I wasn’t going to send my child with them.”
The victim’s mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s identity, said she was alerted by her neighbours.
“When I arrived at the house she [daughter] was lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor,” she said.
“Her husband wasn’t there. She was naked at the bottom, her panties and pants were lying in the room but she was wearing a bra and a T-shirt.
“He intentionally did this, he wanted to kill her. About a month ago he also hit her then she took out a restraining order against him,” the mother said.
Police spokeswoman Constable Noloyiso Rwexana said the suspect was still at large: “Police were alerted to a scene of domestic violence in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident, which happened at about 3.30am Sunday, are under investigation.
“A case of attempted murder was opened. No arrest has been made as yet.”
* Anyone who can assist with the investigation, can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111. - Additional reporting by the Cape Argus
Daily Voice