Double Mbombela murder unsolved after nearly two years
The murder of a mother and son on Valley Farm just outside of Mbombela occurred almost two years ago. The family is appealing to the public to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
As the second anniversary of the brutal Valley Farm murders of local teacher Annemarie Botha (65) and her son, Ruan Brits (36), draws near, the R100 000 reward for any information that will lead to the perpetrators’ arrest still stands.
Botha and Brits’ family appeals to the public to come forward to the Nelspruit SAPS with any information that will help find and arrest those responsible for the double murder that took place on the afternoon of Saturday April 24, 2021.
Albert Gryvenstein, operations manager of Bossies Community Justice, confirmed on Monday that the R100 000 reward money is still available to anyone who can provide information that will lead to an arrest.
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Botha had been living on the farm with her husband, Faan, who was a sectional manager and was set to retire in October 2021.
Brits was Annemarie’s son from a previous marriage. He was mentally disabled and resided in Wenakker Centre for Intellectually Disabled Adults in Lydenburg. He only visited Annemarie and Faan on weekends and had been visiting his mother the day of the murders.
Faan had returned home from patrolling the area at about 18:15 that day, when he stumbled across the bloodied bodies of his wife and stepson.
It is believed that the attack was a robbery gone wrong. Some of the stolen items were found in the field between the house and the fence on the farm, which had allegedly been cut by the attackers.
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The autopsy had found that Annemarie had been stabbed over 30 times. Her defensive wounds indicated that she had put up a fight against her attackers.
The Nelspruit police are still investigating the double murder, and no arrests have been made at this stage.
The police have also urged anyone with information to call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or send information via the My SAPS app.
All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous.
