Serial killer of the elderly gets fourth life sentence
Shaun Oosthuizen confessed to killing two other women while serving his prison sentence for previous murders he had been found guilty of.
Convicted serial killer Shaun Oosthuizen (42), who preyed on elderly women at old age homes, was handed a fourth life sentence plus an additional 80 years in prison in the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday.
This, as the fourth anniversary of the brutal murder of elderly Mbombela resident Henrietta Catharina (Hetta) Potgieter approaches. Potgieter was his third victim. He had travelled from Gauteng to Mbombela on July 8, 2018. He broke into her home at Macadamia Old Age Home and robbed and killed her.
He was arrested soon after and was one of three accused in the case, however charges against his two co-accused, John du Plooy (28) and Maryna Lin Mam (51), whose surname was Vorster at the time of her arrest, were withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.
During his bail application on August 3, 2018 the court heard that police had CCTV footage of Oosthuizen and Vorster walking through the gate at Macadamia Care Centre and later exiting the same night.
The court heard from investigating officer and police veteran Lt Col Erhard Ströh that the vehicle Oosthuizen and his co-accused had used had an MP registration that the police later discovered to be false.
The police then obtained footage at another scene of the same vehicle, but with a GP registration. Ströh added that witnesses at Herfsakker Old Age Home, where the trio had gone before they went to Macadamia, had stated that the accused had also asked for a glass of water there.
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Ströh also described to the court what he had seen at the crime scene on the day of the murder.
He said the TV was still on and the home had been ransacked. Potgieter’s body was found in the bathroom with both hands tied behind her back. There was a cloth inside her mouth and another cloth tied around her mouth. The safe was open and R10 000 had been stolen out of it. The safe key was missing.
Using the GP registration number, the trio were tracked to Krugersdorp and arrested at Lovers Rock Caravan Park. The three were granted bail of R2 000 each and were released. Oosthuizen committed another murder while he was out on bail.
Barbara Esmé Fenton (74) was strangled to death on September 1, 2018 at her home in Alberton. An investigation by the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) led to the rearrest of Oosthuizen. He was further linked to another murder that occurred on June 24, 2018 in which Engela van Wyk (86) was killed and robbed at Rus ‘n Bietjie Old Age Home in Springs.
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Hawks spokesperson Capt Dineo Sekgotodi said in a statement that the trial for the murder of Van Wyk was finalised and Oosthuizen was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
In December 2019, Oosthuizen was sentenced to life imprisonment for Fenton’s death and 20 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. He was sentenced to serve a total of three life sentences for killing three elderly women and 50 years for further robbing them.
While serving his sentence, Oosthuizen confessed to killing other victims in Sunnyside and Roodepoort. Investigations revealed that in December 2015, the accused broke into an old age home in Sunnyside where he robbed and killed Ema Gossen (93) and fled the scene with her jewellery valued at R50 000.
The investigation linked him with another incident that took place in Roodepoort in August 2018 in which Oosthuizen used the same modus operandi. He murdered and robbed Lillas Merry (77) and fled the scene with jewellery also valued at R50 000.
Oosthuizen pleaded guilty to Potgieter’s murder on August 4, 2021 and was sentenced the following day to life imprisonment plus 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
On May 16, the Pretoria Regional Court added an extra life imprisonment for murder plus 30 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances bringing the total number to four life imprisonments plus 80 years imprisonment. The provincial Hawks’ head, Maj Gen Zodwa Mokoena, applauded the investigating team for securing such substantial life sentences. “We appreciate the collaboration between the investigators and judiciary for ensuring that the heartless criminal who tormented the elderly who could not fight for themselves is removed from the community,” she said.
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September 1, 2018
The body of a 74-year-old woman, Barbara Esmé Fenton, was discovered in an old age home in Alberton. The two suspects allegedly entered the premises on the pretence that they were looking for someone. They asked the woman for a glass of water and gained entry to her home. She was taken to the bedroom, her legs and hands tied with a cellphone cables. A cloth was stuffed down her throat and she was robbed of her cellphone and jewellery.
August 20, 2018
A 77-year-old Lillas Merry’s body was discovered in the corridor of her flat. Her hands and feet were tied up and a cloth was stuffed down her throat. They had robbed her of her jewellery.
June 26, 2018
Engela van Wyk (86) was found suffocated in her home at Rus-n-Bietjie Old Age Home in Springs. Witnesses saw two men entering her flatlet. Van Wyk was found in her room with her hands bound to her bed. A cloth was stuffed inside her mouth and another wrapped around it. The flatlet had been ransacked. Her jewellery, rings, cellphone and key were taken. Tenants heard from the others that two men had asked to use the bathroom.
February 3, 2017
A 79-year-old woman, Pats Truter, was killed in Mookgophong Old Age Home Complex in Limpopo. She was living alone and her body was discovered the following day when neighbours became suspicious. The body was lying on the floor, covered with a towel and carpet. A preliminary investigation suggested she might have been suffocated. There was no sign of forced entry.
2016
The body of an elderly woman was discovered in her home in Phoenix, Durban. She was suffocated with a cloth, tied up and robbed.
December 5, 2015
The body of a 93-year-old woman, Ema Gossen, was discovered on the eighth floor of an old age home in Sunnyside, Pretoria. She was found in her flat, with her hands tied behind her back and a cloth stuffed down her throat, with another wrapped around her mouth. She was found locked in her cupboard and barely alive after two days. She died a week later in hospital. Her flat had also been ransacked and some items were stolen.
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