Ballito couple talks after attack

After reporting about the attack on Ballito residents John and Cheryl Coburn on Sunday January 18, we went to speak to them about what happened.

John and Cheryl, owners of Gianni’s Restaurant on the beachfront, were assaulted and had burning peri-peri sauce sprayed in their eyes by three men who broke into and ransacked their home.

“I came home just before 9pm on Sunday night and walked upstairs to join John, who was watching television in our bedroom,” said Cheryl. When they heard the downstairs beam go off, they did not think much of it, as it is regularly set off by the neighbour’s cat.

“I took a look outside, but did not see anything and reset the alarm,” she said.

Shortly after that, the upstairs beam went off, but again they thought it was the cat and again Cheryl reset the alarm.

John opened one of the upstairs windows to shoo away the cat and at that moment, Cheryl saw a face outside the window.

Suddenly three young men ran through the window pane and into their room.

“It was like a movie. They just ran straight through the window without any padding or protection and barged into the room,” said John.

“They sprayed us with peri-peri sauce. It was in our eyes, on our arms, everywhere.”

The three moved quickly and their actions seemed to have been perfectly orchestrated.

“One of the guys grabbed Cheryl and held a knife to her throat and the other pulled a balaclava over my head and held a knife to my throat as well,” he said.

“They shoved their hands covered in peri-peri sauce down Cheryl’s throat.”

The men proceeded to look through the drawers and bags.

When one of the guys told Cheryl that he wanted to ‘play’, John saw red and told them to leave her alone and that he would give them whatever they wanted.

They kept saying that they wanted money and that they must open the safe, but the couple do not keep cash with them as most of their business is done with card payments.

John demanded that they let Cheryl come to him, before opening the safe, which they did and so he opened the safe and gave them the contents.

One of the assailants cut his arm when he walked through the window and bled onto the couple’s sheets. Before they left, they tied up their victims.

“Thanks to a trick I learnt from LA Law, I managed to get my hands out of the rope and so we could set ourselves free quickly,” said John.

Neighbour Pamela Ravat heard Cheryl screaming and the window breaking.

“My daughter pressed the panic button and our security company arrived immediately,” said Ravat.

Within minutes the area was swarming with police, various security companies and paramedics.

“It was fantastic to see the Ballito community come together in such large numbers to help,” said Ravat.

John and Cheryl were impressed with the efficient and quick work done by the police and the security companies.

“They must be congratulated. They were fantastic. I am tired of the Ballito public running down the police force and security companies, because they were excellent,” said John.

Within about 30 minutes of the incident, the police caught one of the assailants – who appeared to be injured – in a tree in the Coburn property, while trying to escape with a bag full of stolen items. The police are still looking for the other two men, but John said the police knew who they were.

John said he believed they had become complacent about their home security, which left them open to attack.

“We need to be constantly aware of our surroundings. Criminals are watching your movements and get to know your routine,” he said.

“Also, the best thing to do in this kind of situation is to cover your eyes and fall to the floor,” he said.