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About Anika Smit
Anika Smit (1993 - 2010)
Brief overview:
Anika (17), was murdered in the family home in Theresa Park, Pretoria on 10th March 2010. Her father, Johan (54), found her mutilated body, both her hands had been hacked off.
A man, Nico Venter (21), who was known to Anika, was alleged to have been her killer, but was released after charges against him were withdrawn by a Pretoria North magistrate. Nico Venter snr, said he was relieved that his son's case had been dropped. "This case disrupted our lives for months. We're just glad it is over now. "My heart goes out to Anika's parents. What about that poor child; she deserves justice."
Investigating officer Mike van Aardt said there is currently no main suspect in the case, but "several suspects" were being investigated. He did confirm that Anika's hands had not been found yet.
Anika’s murder still remains unsolved to this day.
Brief Biography:
- Other Victims/Family
- Funeral/Memorial
- The Street/Suburb
- The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
Attack Details:
- Date and time of attack
- Weapons
- Items Stolen
- Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
- Torture, Gratuitous violence
- Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.
Perpetrator details:
- Number and Descriptions
- Arrests
- Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
- Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
- Trial/Conviction
- "Magistrate Pierre Wessels ordered an inquest into Anika's murder in the Pretoria North Magistrates' Court on 22 July 2014 to ascertain who was responsible for the teenager's death. On 14 September 2015, five years after her murder, the inquest started. This inquest, a procedure in which witnesses are called to determine whether a suspect can be identified and charged, was well on track when André "Smiley" van Wyk, a former classmate of Anika, turned himself in to police one night in September 2017."
- November 2016: "The man accused of murdering teenager Anika Smit will spend more time under psychiatric evaluation, the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court heard on Friday. André van Wyk, 26, known by his friends as "Smiley", was not in court on Friday morning. His parents, however, attended proceedings. At his last court appearance, he was sent for psychiatric evaluation at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for 30 days. He had to spend another 20 days there, for further evaluation. The matter was postponed to December 15."
- October 2018: "Despite his claim of being responsible for the murder, the case against him was withdrawn a year later after André confessed that he had made a false statement and that he'd been threatened into confessing to the murder. But André remains a person of interest in Anika's murder, along with Anika's father, her mother, her ex-boyfriend Nico Venter, a school friend Damian Treeby and a recent addition, Ryno Brink (Van der Merwe, 2018). The case is still pending and the inquest will continue during November 2018."
Additional Biographical Information:
Links to Media articles:
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Anika Smit's Timeline
| 1993 |
1993
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| 2010 |
March 10, 2010
Age 17
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Akasia, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa
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