A 75-YEAR-OLD woman is recovering from her injuries following a brutal robbery incident that left her traumatised and in need of serious medical treatment on Monday, February 24.

The pensioner, who was recovering from surgery at home, had to be rushed back to hospital after she was attacked, allegedly by her housekeeper of eight years, who bound and gagged her with a cloth doused in a chemical. According to police, the Zimbabwe national fled with jewellery estimated to be worth R500 000.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said, “Umbilo SAPS have opened a case of house robbery following an incident in which a 75-year-old woman was allegedly robbed by a known suspect while at her place of residence on Evans Road in Umbilo. Reports indicate that the suspect grabbed the victim, gagged her mouth, tied her up, and allegedly stole the jewellery from the house safe and fled the scene.”

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The case was confirmed by Captain Pumzile Biyana, Umbilo SAPS spokesperson, who said, “The victim had confronted her domestic worker about her jewellery which had gone missing from the safe. The suspect tied her up and fled with the rest of the jewellery valued at R500 000. The suspect is from Zimbabwe and no arrests have been made as yet.”

The matter is also being investigated by Brad Nathanson of Brad Nathanson Investigations who has appealed for help in locating the suspect. He shed more light on the situation, stating that the victim initially confronted the suspect about the missing jewellery on Friday, February 21, and told her to go home and to consider returning the items that she had allegedly taken.

He said, “On Monday, February 24, the housekeeper arrived at the victim’s home and tricked the pensioner into opening the safe by suggesting they look through the safe together. As she turned her back on the suspect, the victim was grabbed from behind and straddled from behind by a much stronger, younger, fitter opponent.”

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The 75-year-old victim was then bound, gagged and dragged to the kitchen where another cloth was stuffed into her mouth.
“The cloth contained one or another detergent. This burned the victim’s mouth and throat. After the suspect fled, the victim rolled and crawled to her bedroom where she managed to press the panic button and open a window to call for help,” said Nathanson.

He said Blue Security, Homeland Security, Glenwood UIP, and Pigeon Valley UIP responded to the distress call along with law enforcement. Anybody with information on the whereabouts of the suspect and the stolen items is asked to contact Umbilo SAPS on 031 203 2409 or Nathanson on 083 250 2007.

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