How slain student’s friend was saved

WHEN Averal Fortuin heard Cheslin Marsh’s cries in his front yard on Saturday morning‚ he thought it was just another drunk intruder.

After Fortuin and his wife, Margaret‚ came out of their Bernadino Heights home to check on the noise and saw the blood-drenched Stellenbosch student pinned to the gate by their ridgeback dog‚ Margaret yelled at Marsh to leave.

He pleaded for help‚ saying “they are going to kill me”‚ Fortuin said.

It was only when police visited them later to get their details that the Fortuins realised Marsh had been the victim of a hijacking which had left him badly injured‚ and his friend‚ Hanna Cornelius‚ 21, dead.

“We thought it was another intruder, because we’re used to guys walking down [our street] and being in gang fights,” Fortuin said.

“Our immediate reaction was to tell him to leave. We wanted him gone.”

Then a police van drove by and Fortuin waved it down. Marsh left with the police.

At about 1am on Saturday, he and Cornelius were in her car in Bird Street, Stellenbosch, when they were hijacked. Marsh was able to escape later in Bernadino Heights‚ but Cornelius was not as fortunate – her body was found just outside Stellenbosch. She had also been raped.

Police arrested three men at the weekend and a fourth on Monday in Cloetesville‚ Stellenbosch.

Two of men, Geraldo Parsens and Vernon Witbooi, appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court on Monday, for attempted murder‚ rape‚ murder and kidnapping.

The other two are expected to face the same charges.