Ferociously stabbed and robbed
WESTDENE- Two Wits professors were locked in their bathroom, tied and stabbed during a robbery in their Westdene home.
An elderly Westdene couple lost a part of their lives after being locked in their bathroom, stabbed with a screwdriver and robbed on 3 September.
Peter and Anette Horn who are both senior lecturers at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) were rushed to Milpark Hospital in the early hours of the morning.
Anette has since been discharged from the hospital but will require further medical attention, following the attack.
Plastic surgery will be needed because the screwdriver savaged her face, neck and arms, according to Professor Libby Meintjies of Wits.
Peter is being monitored closely in ICU.
“Peter is still in the ICU but he is not critical, he should be moved to a high-care facility as soon as he is much more stable,” said Meintjies.
“He has a pierced lung, but he is doing fine and didn’t need an operation,” she added.
Meintjies described the attack as “horrific” and said the couple is traumatised by the incident. Although recovering from home, Anette is unable to talk about the incident, “it is still too fresh”.
The attack took place just a few days after the couple’s home was burgled in a separate incident.
“About two days before the robbery that landed them at the hospital, the couple had been robbed in their home, they didn’t hear the robbers come in, they just noticed when they woke up, but this time they heard them and woke up and that’s when they were locked in the bathroom,” said Meintjes.
The suspect is still at large but police are investigating the incident.
“It is horrific that this kind of crimes occur in the area, we are investigating the case and hopefully the attacker is caught,” said Warrant Officer TJ de Bruyn of Sophiatown Police Station.
Westdene residents have been very concerned about the matter according to Jean Knight, vice chairperson of the Westdene Resident’s Association.
“We were extremely upset and concerned about what happened. Peter is not a young man but he works very hard helping the community,” said Knight.
“We appreciate the concern that the neighbours are showing and are very much pleased that Peter is no longer critical. We look forward to helping him settle in when he is discharged,” added Knight.
