WATCH: Court to decide Alberton man bail bid after wife killed during stabbing
Frederick ‘Freddie’ Vermeulen (42) stands accused of killing his then wife, Juanita Vermeulen. Juanita’s body was discovered in the boot of her vehicle at a shopping centre in Brackenhurst, Alberton. Freddie’s lawyer wants him out on R25 00 bail.
The case against Alberton murder-accused Frederick ‘Freddie’ Vermeulen returned to the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on July 9.
He appeared in District Criminal Court Four (DC4), where he is seeking release on bail.
The 42-year-old stands accused of killing his late wife, Juanita Vermeulen. Juanita’s body was discovered in the boot of her vehicle at a shopping centre in Brackenhurst, Alberton, in January of this year.
According to evidence before court, Juanita sustained nine stab wounds, four of which were on her chest, others on her thighs and upper limbs.
Freddie wants out of prison due to what he calls deteriorating health since being incarcerated. The proceedings began with testimony from a nurse who works at the hospital section of Boksburg prison, where Freddie is currently being held.
The nurse previously told the court that: “Our assessments show that he is fine.” She maintained that position at July 9’s bail application hearing.
Freddie’s lawyer took the nurse to task over her medical assessment of the accused.
“The accused complains about fatigue, loss of muscle mass and reduced endurance. He’s weak. Did you give him anything for that?” asked the defence lawyer. The prison nurse said Freddie’s medical file had nothing about ‘fatigue’, and that she only came to know of it when he complained about feeling tired.
The nurse told the court that Freddie was “given treatment according to the assessment of the clinician that was attending to him (Freddie).” The nurse went further, explaining: “When we can’t solve the problem, we refer to the doctor. But if it’s a condition after assessment that we can give treatment, we do.”
The nurse told the court that they have not found any evidence of Freddie suffering from a chronic medical condition. She did, however, concede Freddie’s weight loss (down by 9 kg since his detention), which the lawyer pointed out in the prison’s medical report. “Fatigue is not a chronic medical condition, your worship, and his weight loss could be attributed to a change in diet,” said the prison nurse.
“The fact of the matter is that everyone who comes into prison they are stressed. And naturally, when a person is stressed, they lose weight. I always tell them (inmates) that it’s not like you are at home, where you wake up at 12:00, go and take a glass of milk,” said the nurse.
Commenting on prison food, the nurse said: “They are getting food every day. Breakfast, lunch, and supper. The food is not pork chops and rice. It’s part gravy, bread, with tea. You don’t have your eggs and bacon. So naturally, if your body is used to eating a certain diet, then you come to prison, it’s a different diet.”
On Freddie’s bail bid, the lawyer said: “It would be absurd to suggest that the applicant may pose a danger to the witnesses, as he does not dispute their versions. The community has been furious after hearing about the incident. Their rage was misplaced, as it was without basis. They were misinformed at the very least.”
“This is noted because if one looks at the petition, dated January 19, 2026, it turns out that the petition is based on what members of the community read in local papers, the Alberton Record and The Citizen.
For members of the public seeking background to this matter, reference is made to a publicly available media report published by the Alberton Record, outlining the circumstances surrounding the death of Juanita Vermeulen,” argued Freddie’s lawyer.
“This report was published on January 10, 2026, long before the applicant (Freddie) told the court what happened during the incident,” the lawyer said. Freddie’s lawyer told the court that the accused would live at an alternative address, should he be granted bail, and attend proceedings while staying at the alternative address.
This, he said, would guarantee that he poses no threat to witnesses or the community.
But the State prosecutor hit back, arguing against Freddie’s release on bail. “Your Worship, we believe that Mr Vermeulen is a flight risk. We are aware that Mr Vermeulen has a friend who has since, after the tragic incident of the deceased (Juanita), moved to Australia. Mr Vermeulen was also not entirely truthful about the circumstances that led to Juanita’s death. He said he stabbed her twice in self-defence, but the post-mortem report shows that he stabbed her nine times.”
The prosecutor continued: “Your Worship, there is no evidence of a struggle between the accused and deceased during the struggle. We do not believe it was self-defence because Mr Vermeulen had no bruises, scars or any injuries after his arrest. Even if it was self-defence, as claimed by the accused, why did he stab her nine times? We therefore oppose bail, Your Worship,” concluded the prosecutor.
Freddie will learn the fate of his bail bid on July 24.
His lawyer proposed that he be released on R25 000 bail, with an alternative address and a commitment to adhere to his bail conditions. He remains in custody.
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