Nearly two months after the shocking attack on a 14-year-old, the police investigation appears to have stalled.

Pretoria Rekord reports that concerns have been raised about unprocessed evidence, missing statements and unanswered questions that could prove vital to solving the case.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, led by advocates Gerrie Nel and Phyllis Vorster, is representing the Combrinck family following the brutal attack at the family’s home in August.

In letters sent to the Sinoville Police Station, AfriForum raised concerns about the pace of the investigation and the lack of feedback to the family in the weeks after the incident.

The organisation questioned whether key evidence, including fingerprints lifted from the scene, CCTV footage showing the suspects’ vehicle and its registration number, and statements from the victims, had been properly collected and analysed.

They also enquired about a set of keys reportedly found at the scene and whether these had been checked for prints.

AfriForum emphasised that the family continues to experience deep trauma as they await justice and urged police to ensure that the case receives the attention it deserves.

The teenager’s mother, Marisa Combrink, says he is making a bit of progress every day.

“It’s difficult for [him] to come home from school every Monday, there are quite a few triggers. Over the past three weeks, he has been staying with family on the farm, where he’s been able to enjoy his passion for fishing. He’s slowly started opening up to me about the attack.

“When he looked at the safe the other day, he said, ‘I’m so glad I passed out, otherwise they would probably have hurt me even more to make me open it’, and I told him ‘I’m just as thankful that he woke up’.

“We’ve made new arrangements for the afternoons to make things easier for him, and security at home has been tightened since the attack so that he can feel safer.

“As a mother, I worry… How do you get away from all the triggers in the house where the attack happened? I understand now why people move after incidents like this; it’s so much harder to work through it.”

Four suspects attacked the teenager at around 13:45 when he walked into the house and came face-to-face with the robbers.

“He tried to run, but they grabbed him from behind and hit him over the head with a sharp object, believed to be a garden spade,” she says. “He lost consciousness and was left lying in a pool of blood.”

By what his mother calls ‘only God’s grace’, he later regained consciousness, escaped over the wall, and ran to the nearby school grounds for help.

He was found by a teacher and rushed to Montana Hospital, where doctors closed his wounds with more than 30 staples.

The suspects entered the property in a white Toyota Hilux double cab, and the case remains under investigation.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed that the brutal house robbery and assault remains under investigation.

According to Muridili, forensic services attended the scene, and the investigating officer continues to keep the complainant informed of progress, even as the family, represented by AfriForum, continues to seek clarity on certain aspects of the probe.

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