At approximately 2:40pm on Wednesday, men pretending to ask for water and cigarettes stabbed and robbed two elderly brothers living in Ocean View, Cape Town.
Gerald Geldenhuis, one of the siblings, died three days before his 84th birthday.
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According to the Cape Argus, before one of the brothers, James Geldenhuis, 73, was rushed to the hospital, he told a relative what happened.
A neighbour who came by to check on them allegedly discovered the brothers and then informed their relative about the incident. Both brothers were on the floor with multiple stab wounds.
According to a relative who did not want to be identified, the 73-year-old victim asked him and the neighbour to document what happened.
‘He asked us to take out our phones and record so that if he doesn’t make it, his statement can be sent to the police. It was a robbery; James was standing outside when one of the suspects asked for water and cigarettes,’ he told the Cape Argus.
He then went inside the house while his brother was sitting in the living room, and four men allegedly entered the house and stabbed the 83-year-old.
‘One of them went into the kitchen, picked up a kettle with boiling water, and threw it at the man who was trying to help him,’ the relative added.
A suspect then allegedly stabbed the 73-year-old several times before taking the TV and sound system, closing the door and walking out.
‘We could see he tried to open the door by the bloody handprints on the wall, but he collapsed next to his brother.’
The relative told the Cape Argus that the brothers had big hearts and didn’t mind sharing what they had with others, and he wasn’t surprised that they were helping people in need of water.
According to Ocean View SAPS spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, the department is investigating a house robbery, murder and attempted murder.
‘This follows an incident that happened at about 2.40pm at premises in Capricorn Way, Ocean View. An 83-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the upper body, and his brother was injured.’
According to Captain van Wyk, SAPS members received a murder-in-progress complaint and arrived to find ambulance services and two males lying on the ground. Paramedic personnel informed the members that one of the males, identified as the 84-year-old, had already passed away.
He went on to say that the victim had multiple stab wounds on his body, and the second victim was identified as his brother, who had also been stabbed, and he was taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
The circumstances of this incident are being investigated; however, Captain van Wyk confirmed that the motive was robbery because a television was stolen from the house.
Anyone with any information about this incident is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.