In an emotional memorial service, the murdered couple Herman and Christine Pienaar from Valhalla were laid to rest on Tuesday.
During the service held at Kerk Sonder Mure in Zwartkops, speaker after speaker described the couple as loving and caring people. A family member, Alta Vermaak, sister of Christine Pienaar, said the family will miss the couple. She said she was very close to her sister and brother-in-law and that they spoke every Sunday.
“This is a sad moment for all of us and knowing that their son has been implicated in this murder case, we can only wait for the court to decide. The truth will come out.”
Ward 66 councillor, Ina Strijdom, said this unfortunate incident leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
“I have spent a lot of time with the family during the last week and my heart really goes out to them. I am currently in the process of arranging trauma counselling for some family members as well as for the housekeeper who had been working for this family for a number of years and was the one to discover the bodies. She most definitely needs counselling and I will ensure that she is being cared for. For me as the ward councillor there is no way to console the family and friends. I can just pray that God will help all of them to heal as time goes by,” said Strijdom.
Siena Matjila, the domestic worker who has been working for the Pienaar family for the past five years, said she will miss the couple because they were so helpful and Christine used to advise her whenever she had issues with her family.
“She used to assist me with money. I’m surprised that the son is the suspect because he is a quiet person, but only the court will find the truth,” said Matjila.
The 35-year old man who is being accused of murdering his parents at the family’s home in Valhalla will reappear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for a formal bail application next week Thursday, according to the police. Herman Pienaar (son) was arrested in Boksburg North along with a friend, and was in possession of an unlicensed firearm and a vehicle that belonged to one of the deceased.
Police spokesperson, Captain Agnus Huma, said the bodies of Herman (senior) and Christine Pienaar were discovered by their domestic worker when she came to work. Huma said that at around 07:10 the domestic worker suspected something was wrong when her employers did not open the gate for her as they usually did. Her SMS to alert her employers of her arrival also remained unanswered.
A neighbour, who saw the domestic worker waiting outside, managed to open the gate, as he had access to the property.
“When the domestic worker got into the house, she found the house ransacked and the bodies of her employers on the floor in the study. The couple’s son was not at home when the domestic worker arrived and there was no sign of forced entry, although several items had been stolen,” Huma said.
