Ace Rimmer
01-24-2008, 02:18 PM
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Police senior superintendent Erika Heunis, who was found beaten to death in Graaff Reinet in the Western Cape
GRAAFF RIENET - Residents of this historical town were shocked by the cruel murder of an Afrikaner police instructor. Senior superintendent Erika Heunis, 36, was apparently also gang-raped -- before she was beaten to death with stones. She was married and has two teenaged daughters. There were supposedly three attackers, but by late on Tuesday police still refused to reveal any facts. According to a source at the police academy where she worked, she was running as usual with police students along Mountain Avenue, a well-known hiking trail outside the town. Local residents say other women have also been attacked along that trail. She was attacked and murdered about 3km from the turn-off to the road. It's not known why the students did not protect her. Apparently they had returned to the academy without her. Her attackers apparently laid in wait for her.
"When she failed to return to the academy after a while, two police officers investigated," said the source, who wanted to remain anonymous. These officers found her semi-naked body under a bush along the dirt road. Forensic specialists arrived at the crime scene from Port Elizabeth on Tuesday afternoon to investigate the murder. Police inspector Wena Theron also was unable to explain why the police specialists at Graaff Reinet did not investigate the crime scene. "A full report will be issued on Wednesday morning," was all she said.
Heunis's family was too shocked to comment on the incident. A friend of the family, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were very shocked and sad. "We don't know exactly what happened, so we don't want to comment," she said.
Kritzinger Mey, leader of the FF+ in the Eastern Cape, expressed his shock at the cruel murder. According to Mey, Heunis's husband Garth was attending a course in Johannesburg when the incident happened. He would have flown back to Port Elizabeth late on Tuesday, and would then have been taken to Graaff Reinet by helicopter. Dave Mugglestone, principal at Union High School, which is attended by Senior P/I Heunis's two daughters Monique, 12, and Chanzelle, 13, said he got goose bumps when hearing about the incident.
"We are devastated. Her death is not only a loss for the children, but for the whole community. She was a wonderful woman."
Another resident, Christa Hahn, said residents had been warned not to use the road where Heunis was attacked. Two people were also attacked and nearly raped along this road last year, said Captain Daan Zeelie, head of the detective branch at Graaff Reinet.
Murdered Graaff Reinett police-superintendent Erika Heunis had 'premonition' -- report
She had told her students before setting off for their daily run that there 'might be criminals' along the trail they always hiked along. And it was also one of the first times that she had ever gone running without her husband - he was in Pretoria for a study-course. She had still joked with one of her students, sergeant Lindiwe Fermelen, that she should take along her pepper-spray to run ahead of them and 'spray away the criminals." Indeed, several women had been attacked along this trail before and one man had been arrested and jailed just recently for one such attack.
Captain Charlotte Marais told the newspaper that apparently the Afrikaner police academy instructor had been jogging ahead of her students -- and that they turned back to the academy after about 2,4km while she kept on running on the trail where she was found murdered later, it is being claimed.
"they went for their run at around 07:45. When she hadn't returned by 11:00, some of the officers went looking for her.
Two police officers, Captain Johan Grebe and Inspector Jannie Coetzee, then found her half-naked body beneath a tree.'
"there was a lot of blood on the crime scene and the smell of pepper-spray was in the air. At this stage we don't know if she sprayed her attackers or if she was attacked with pepper-spray.”
A post-mortem examination confirmed that she was bashed with a stone. Port Elizabeth forensic experts were dispatched to Graaff Reinet to conduct a thorough examination of the crime-scene.
LOCAL EXPERTS WITHOUT NECESSARY FORENSIC EQUIPMENT...
Local experts at the police academy and the local police station apparently didn't have the required sophisticated equipment to carry out such an examination...
Police senior superintendent Erika Heunis, who was found beaten to death in Graaff Reinet in the Western Cape
GRAAFF RIENET - Residents of this historical town were shocked by the cruel murder of an Afrikaner police instructor. Senior superintendent Erika Heunis, 36, was apparently also gang-raped -- before she was beaten to death with stones. She was married and has two teenaged daughters. There were supposedly three attackers, but by late on Tuesday police still refused to reveal any facts. According to a source at the police academy where she worked, she was running as usual with police students along Mountain Avenue, a well-known hiking trail outside the town. Local residents say other women have also been attacked along that trail. She was attacked and murdered about 3km from the turn-off to the road. It's not known why the students did not protect her. Apparently they had returned to the academy without her. Her attackers apparently laid in wait for her.
"When she failed to return to the academy after a while, two police officers investigated," said the source, who wanted to remain anonymous. These officers found her semi-naked body under a bush along the dirt road. Forensic specialists arrived at the crime scene from Port Elizabeth on Tuesday afternoon to investigate the murder. Police inspector Wena Theron also was unable to explain why the police specialists at Graaff Reinet did not investigate the crime scene. "A full report will be issued on Wednesday morning," was all she said.
Heunis's family was too shocked to comment on the incident. A friend of the family, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they were very shocked and sad. "We don't know exactly what happened, so we don't want to comment," she said.
Kritzinger Mey, leader of the FF+ in the Eastern Cape, expressed his shock at the cruel murder. According to Mey, Heunis's husband Garth was attending a course in Johannesburg when the incident happened. He would have flown back to Port Elizabeth late on Tuesday, and would then have been taken to Graaff Reinet by helicopter. Dave Mugglestone, principal at Union High School, which is attended by Senior P/I Heunis's two daughters Monique, 12, and Chanzelle, 13, said he got goose bumps when hearing about the incident.
"We are devastated. Her death is not only a loss for the children, but for the whole community. She was a wonderful woman."
Another resident, Christa Hahn, said residents had been warned not to use the road where Heunis was attacked. Two people were also attacked and nearly raped along this road last year, said Captain Daan Zeelie, head of the detective branch at Graaff Reinet.
Murdered Graaff Reinett police-superintendent Erika Heunis had 'premonition' -- report
She had told her students before setting off for their daily run that there 'might be criminals' along the trail they always hiked along. And it was also one of the first times that she had ever gone running without her husband - he was in Pretoria for a study-course. She had still joked with one of her students, sergeant Lindiwe Fermelen, that she should take along her pepper-spray to run ahead of them and 'spray away the criminals." Indeed, several women had been attacked along this trail before and one man had been arrested and jailed just recently for one such attack.
Captain Charlotte Marais told the newspaper that apparently the Afrikaner police academy instructor had been jogging ahead of her students -- and that they turned back to the academy after about 2,4km while she kept on running on the trail where she was found murdered later, it is being claimed.
"they went for their run at around 07:45. When she hadn't returned by 11:00, some of the officers went looking for her.
Two police officers, Captain Johan Grebe and Inspector Jannie Coetzee, then found her half-naked body beneath a tree.'
"there was a lot of blood on the crime scene and the smell of pepper-spray was in the air. At this stage we don't know if she sprayed her attackers or if she was attacked with pepper-spray.”
A post-mortem examination confirmed that she was bashed with a stone. Port Elizabeth forensic experts were dispatched to Graaff Reinet to conduct a thorough examination of the crime-scene.
LOCAL EXPERTS WITHOUT NECESSARY FORENSIC EQUIPMENT...
Local experts at the police academy and the local police station apparently didn't have the required sophisticated equipment to carry out such an examination...