Family seeks answers after more than a year
MBOMBELA - Almost a year and a half since the brutal Valley Farm murders of local teacher Annemarie Botha (65) and her son Ruan Brits (36), and with still no arrests, the family has said it is like their deaths never even happened.
Ronelle Botha, Annemarie’s stepdaughter, said the family has not received any feedback from the police on the matter.
Annemarie and Brits, who had a mental disability, were horrifically killed in the late afternoon of Saturday April 24, 2021. The autopsy found that she had been stabbed over 30 times. Her defensive wounds indicated that she had put up a fight against her attackers.
Annemarie’s husband, Faan Botha, who was a sectional manager on the farm and was set to retire in October 2021, had returned home from patrolling the area at around 18:15 when he stumbled across the bloodied bodies of his wife and stepson.
The police and Hi-Tech were called out to the scene along with Bossies Community Justice (BCJ) to process the scene. It is believed that the attack was a robbery gone wrong. Some of the stolen items were found in the field between the house and the fence, which had allegedly been cut by the attackers.
Ronelle said the crime scene was something her father still relives daily.
“We try calling the investigating officer, but he doesn’t really answer, and when he does, he doesn’t really say much. He said there were 3 000 other cases pending and the investigation would take a while. The family feels, however, that this case has not been prioritised.
“It has been over a year, and there is just nothing. It is like their murders never happened. It feels like no one cares.
“My dad still relives the incident every single day. He needs closure. We all do. Annemarie and Ruan deserve justice. I do not understand why no progress has been made,” she said.
Ronelle asks the community, should anyone know anything about the murders, that they please come forward and assist with the investigation.
“We are frustrated as a family. We are still living with this tragedy.”
Annemarie was a teacher at Calvary Assembly and Christian School in Mbombela and was actively involved in her church.
Brits was Annemarie’s son from a previous marriage. He was living with a mental disability and resided in Wenakker Intellectually Disabled Adult Centre in Lydenburg. He only visited Annemarie and Faan on weekends.
Albert Gryvenstein, operations manager of BCJ, who was also on the scene, had told Lowvelder in a previous article that it was the worst scene he had ever attended.
Gryvenstein said he had been assisting on the case where he could, but was unable to do much without the cooperation of the police. He added that the case should have been a priority for the SAPS.
By the time of going to press, SAPS had not responded to media enquiries.
‘There is just nothing. It is like their murders never happened. It feels like no one cares. We all need closure’