Farm attack suspect now up for murder
Family devastated after Alexandria man dies of injuries following beating, stabbing
PORT Alfred police are now investigating a murder charge after an Alexandria man who was savagely beaten and stabbed during a farm attack late last month died in a Port Elizabeth hospital on Tuesday.
Alexandria cattle farmer and father of three Riaan Scheepers, 62, died in the Greenacres Hospital at about 5pm.
He was admitted to the hospital following an ambush and subsequent brutal assault on his farm, Ficks, on November 25 by what is suspected to have been two assailants.
One of his suspected attackers, Siphamandla Petse, 24, who was arrested on December 1, will now have murder added to his charge sheet.
Scheepers’s daughter, Bianca, 29, who lives in Cradock, said yesterday that her father’s death had come as a surprise and a shock.
“We did not expect this, especially so long after the attack,” she said.
“While he had initially been in an induced coma, he had come out of it about two weeks ago.
“He was not talking and still in a bad state, but we had been hoping his condition would improve.
“We had been hoping for a miracle, but his heart was not strong enough.” She said her immediate family, which following their mother’s death about 12 years ago, included a sister based in Hermanus and a brother who has just finished his studies in Bloemfontein, were devastated.
“It is tough, but we are just spending time together and focusing on moving forward.”
She had not yet made any decision around attending the suspect’s court case, she said.
“At this stage, we are not focusing on how this all happened.
“We are too shocked and are just focusing on his death. I would not wish what happened to my father on anyone.
“There will be a memorial service open to all who knew him on Wednesday, December 27, at the Dutch Reformed Church in Alexandria.
“He will be cremated in a private ceremony.”
Alexandria Agricultural Association chairman Brent McNamara said yesterday that the community was very saddened by Scheepers’s death.
“He played an active role in the Alexandria community, both in church and agricultural circles and he was the chairman of a home for the old aged in the area.
He said he believed the attack was the most brutal in the area for the past 25 years.
“Stock theft is an extensive problem in this region and we have our share of other crimes, but none as brutal as the attack on Riaan Scheepers. “It is clear that the attackers intended to inflict serious injuries and in fact leave him for dead.”
He said it was hoped that police would bring to book any others involved in the attack as soon as possible.
Confirming the murder charge, Port Alfred police Brigadier Morgan Govender said yesterday that Petse was expected to appear in the Port Alfred Magistrate’s Court again on January 30.
“Our sincere condolences to family and friends of Riaan Scheepers. No further arrests have been made,” he said.
“We continue to urge the community to contact the police for any more information on this case.”
Petse appeared briefly in the Port Alfred Magistrate’s court on December 4, when he was remanded.