GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — There are several violent crimes in this week’s report from the Graaff-Reinet Cluster.
There were two murders reported, both of which happened on Sunday.
At about 01:55 on Sunday morning, a man died after an argument with his older brother. According to Graaff-Reinet police, the two men stabbed each other with knives, in Asherville. The younger man passed away at the scene as a result of his injuries, and the older man has been arrested.
On the same morning, at about 08:35, a 21-year-old female’s lifeless body was found near Kollie Koeberg Stadium, in Asherville. The victim had injuries to her head and face. She worked as a security guard at the stadium, and when her relief reported for duty the guard was nowhere to be found. The relief guard went to search for her and found her body in the bushes near the stadium. There are no known suspects at this stage, and the case is under investigation.
The names of the victims have not yet been released by the police.
There was also one case of attempted murder in Graaff-Reinet, which also happened on Sunday morning, at about 03:30, at Mandela Park, Kroonvale. According to witnesses, they heard someone screaming and found a 16-year-old youth with a stab wound to the stomach. A suspect has been arrested, and the case is under investigation.
Four cases of rape have been reported in Graaff-Reinet in the last two weeks.
The first incident took place between 22 July (00:15) and 24 July (13:15) in a shack in Kroonvale. The victim, an 18-year-old woman, claims that her ex-boyfriend held her in the shack during this time and had intercourse with her more than once, without her consent. The suspect has been arrested.
A 10-year-old boy was the victim of the second attack. He had been sent by his mother to buy electricity, and as he was crossing an open field in Asherville, three men stopped him. Two of the men held the boy down, while the third raped him. The incident happened on 23 July between 17:00 and 20:00. The case is under investigation, and no arrests have yet been made.
The third reported case refers to an incident which took place in Asherville on 26 December 2016, but which has only just been reported to the police. The young girl and her had mother attended a party, and her mother left for home at about 22:00 while the girl stayed behind for a sleepover. The young girl went to sleep, but at around 00:25 the next morning, she woke up, feeling someone on top of her.
She was unable to call out for help, to alert the other people staying there, as her attacker held his hand over her mouth. He then undressed the girl and raped her, after which he threatened her that she must not tell anyone. The young girl, who was 11 at the time, was influenced by outside parties to keep quiet, and only now did she raise the courage to inform her family about the matter. The suspect, in this case, is known, and the incident is still under investigation.
The final incident took place on Sunday 5 August at 05:00 at 7th Avenue, Umasizakhe. According to the 19-year-old victim, she was on her way home when she came across the man, who she did not know. He dragged her into the bushes where he raped her. The suspect is unknown, but he can be identified by his victim.
There was one serious case of theft in Aberdeen, where an amount of R225 000 has been stolen over a period of five years from a person’s bank account. It is alleged that the complainant loaned an amount of money, R11 000, to the suspect 2013, and the suspect then withdrew money from the complainant’s account from 2013 until the end of March this year. The case is under investigation, and no arrests have yet been made.
There were five cases of residential burglary in Graaff-Reinet reported last week.
The first incident took place between 31 July (18:00) and 1 August (06:20) at Mandela Park, Kroonvale. Entrance to the premises was gained with a duplicate key to the residence, and a wall clock to the value of R100 was stolen.
A suspect broke a padlock to get into a house in Umasizakhe on 31 July at about 18:25. Upon arrival home, the complainant his home had been broken into, and building materials, a wooden door, a wheelbarrow and rafters were stolen, with an estimated value of R7000. The suspect in this case has been arrested.
The third case refers to a break-in at the garage of a house in Meintjie Street. between 1 Aug (22:10) and 2 August (04:55). Entrance to the garage was gained by forcing the garage door open, and a picnic bag was stolen to the value of R500. There are no known suspects at this stage of the invstigation.
DVDs, takkies, and a toolbox, together valued at R1 000, were taken from a property in Umasizakhe between 29 July and 08:15 on 30 July. The suspect in this case is known, but has not yet been arrested.
The last case of housebreaking took place at Palm Street, Santaville, on 5 August at about 02:50. According to the complainant, all the doors and windows were locked except for a sliding door which he had left open for his relative. When the relative arrived they found that the residence had been broken into and a flat screen television stolen, with a value of R3 000.
There were two cases of theft out of a motor vehicle.
The first took place between 21:30 on 1 August and 06:00 the next morning. The vehicle was parked outside the owner’s home in Meintjies Street, and all the doors were locked. During the night, he was awoken by a noise and upon investigation, he found his bakkie’s left side window broken. Tools to the value of R2000 had been taken from the vehicle.
The second incident took place between 20:30 on 30 July and 06:50 the following morning, also in Meintjies Street. According to the complainant, both his vehicles had been broken into, and a laptop, handbag, jacket and an MP3 player, total value R25 000., were taken.
Two cases of theft were also opened.
The first took place at Capitec Bank in Caledon Street between 27 June (18:35) and 2 August (08:00). According to the complainant, the suspect was in possession of her cell phone’s sim card that is linked to the bank. The suspect stole R18 500 by using the bank application on the sim card. The suspect in this case is known, but has not yet been arrested.
The final case involves an incident at Chris Hani Village in Graaff-Reinet on 1 August at about 06:20. According to the complainant, the suspect came to the residence early and took a flat screen television, valued at R6 800, and left. The suspect has been arrested, and the investigation continues.
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